When Worlds Collide: Season 1
by Zokolov
Summary: Giratina's dream is to return from the Distortion World and fuse it with the 'real' one, but its plan is derailed by inept, socially awkward trainers like Kris, Lyra, Leaf and Silver, who are on their own journies of self-discovery.
1. Route 224 Prologue

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE – SEASON 1

**CHAPTER ONE: **_**ROUTE 224**_

_**Location: Kris' house, New Bark Town, Johto,**_

"…_reporting live from northeastern Sinnoh, where a terrible tragedy has claimed the lives…_"

"…_murder of three people, one identified as Julia Winston, a researcher employed by the Pewter Museum of Science…_"

"…_a Pokémon worshipped in many cultures as the spirit and symbol of environmentalism, enlightenment, purity and grace. Many have lost faith…_"

"…_that a Pokémon would be capable of such monstrosities. We interviewed an expert from…_"

Kris, a soon-to-be 18 year old girl from New Bark Town, kept flipping through the channels, barely paying attention to the fact that every channel seemed to talk about the same thing.

Nothing about Kris seemed extraordinary at first glance. She was short and skinny, as if she had never been properly fed. She had a pale complexion and long, black hair, shiny and unkempt as always. Though she was wearing casual clothes as she lounged on her couch and watched TV, she always wore a yellow, knitted cap that looked vaguely like a kippah, only bigger.

Even in her dingy, windowless basement room, Kris could still hear the muffled shouting of her parents, prompting her to turn up the volume. A reporter was talking about a triple homicide case in Sinnoh. Kris was more interested on what was behind her, however: the beautiful scenery from Route 224, with flowery meadows, grass fields, sandbars and the ocean all blending together. Kris could almost cringe – it would still be six weeks before she would get her Pokémon and get out there.

At least, that was what Professor Elm had promised her. And what he had been telling her for the past four months, but there always seemed to be someone who needed a Pokémon "more urgently". Even now, Kris' old classmates Lyra and Ethan would no doubt get theirs first – and knowing them, they'd probably take the remaining Pokémon with them just to spite Kris. Given how much of a pushover Johto's regional professor was, it wouldn't even be hard.

Kris focused on the news again: the reporter, Gabby Daniels, was interviewing a tall, nervous-looking guy in a brown trench coat.

"_Detective Looker, International Police. What do you respond to the allegations that this triple homicide was the work of a famous legendary Pokémon_?"

Looking at the guy, Kris wondered if his codename was supposed to be ironic. Not only that, but his voice was high and nasal, which made you expect him to shout out "Go-go gadget hippie clubber" at any minute. On top of that, he had a strange accent and an even stranger way of speaking:

"_It is within possibilities_," Looker responded while wiping his forehead with a tissue, "_but we, the International Police, globe-trotting fighters of the crime, wish to keep our investigations a secrecy._"

"…_what?_"

"_The possible involvement of the Suicune has yet been confirmed also. Thus, we wish not to discuss our matters in the face of the news coverage population_."

Her senses sharpened, Kris flinched and turned up the volume. _Suicune_ was behind that? Looker's little twist on the English language didn't exactly make it clear.

"…_I _think_ he's saying he can't tell us anything for sure… Detective, what can you_-"

"_I cannot provide you with more responses_," Looker said with finality, "_but we recommend viewers to be vigilant of the Suicune. We suggest against communication with people obsessed with the legendary, also. The International Police wishes to warn to steer clear of said perverts_."

Kris looked around her room. Wherever there was enough room, there was a Suicune poster, most of them painted, with many people having different interpretations of the graceful, blue Pokémon. _Maybe I am a_ little _obsessed_, Kris thought, _but since I _know_ I'm obsessed, I can't possibly be considered mentally ill or anything. Right_?

On the news, the reporter still tried to make Looker answer some questions, but neither she nor Looker seemed to understand each other, leading to lots of yelling and arm-waving. Eventually, Gabby stopped trying to hound Looker and turned to the camera, regaining her professionalism.

"_In any case_, _this event, if the rumors are true, is the first unprovoked act of Pokémon violence towards humans since the brief but disastrous Pokémon-Human war forty years ago. It should be of no surprise that many are left wondering – has it started again? This is Gabby Daniels, Jubilife TV_."

Kris turned off the TV and turned to look at her calendar, surrounded by more Suicune posters as well as pictures of famous Pokémon trainers. _Only 39 days to go… only 39 days to go…_ and when she would finally get her Pokémon and get out of the basement, she would find out what _really_ happened.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Route 224, Sinnoh**_

After finally shaking off the reporters and cameramen, Looker sighed and sat on a large white rock. With no trees or houses around, there was no way to escape from the sun. And yet, Looker refused to take off his trench coat, preferring smelling like a locker room to abandoning his classic look.

Relaxing, Looker took a deep breath and relaxed. Looking around him, he couldn't help but lamenting the fact that this natural paradise had to be tainted by this incident. With the Wingull screeching and the waves crashing on the background, it was the perfect relaxation spot, no signs of civilization to ruin it – except now, with all the tire tracks coming from the numerous police cars… as well as a luxurious red Porsche that Looker hadn't noticed before.

Standing next to the Porsche were two men. A young, tall blonde guy wearing a purple scarf and a bandanna was looking around the area calmly, his arms folded over his chest. His companion, a brown-haired guy wearing what looked like a purple magician's outfit, complete with a white cape, kept taking photos of everything around him.

"Hey!" Looker yelled as he approached the duo. "Your vehicle has successfully blocked the path of the International Police. Regardless, I request you to relocate it!"

"Relax," the calm, blonde guy said. "We're with the Legendary Pokémon Society. I'm Morty. My… _friend_ here is Eusine," he said, letting out a weary sigh as he jerked his thumb in the direction of the fruity-looking magician guy who was photographing some rocks on the ground.

"Aha!" Eusine exclaimed. "If I'm not mistaken, these are Suicune droppings! Morty, make a note of that!"

Morty just rolled his eyes.

"Ah," Looker said and nodded. "I have come to an understanding, now. You two, the experts sent to help us, the International Police, in this case, are. Correct?"

"Yeah, that's us!" Eusine exclaimed and shoved his camera to Morty. "Well, _I_ am anyway, Morty's just here for moral support. Matters related to Suicune are _my _expertise!"

"Are you-" Looker uttered, but Eusine interrupted him.

"Hold it," he said. "Since I'm leading this investigation now, I'm asking the questions, officer…"

"Detective," Looker corrected.

"Right, Officer Detective," Eusine nodded. "Now, first question: are you insane?"

"What?"

"You have to excuse my partner," Morty said. "He's an, uh… _admirer _of Suicune. Not to mention crazy. But he's got money, a car and lots and lots of free time, which makes him useful to us. Sort of."

Eusine acted like he hadn't listened at all, instead starting to take photos of something he was sure were Suicune footprints.

"Well, uh, that is great," Looker said. "But if the two of you shall excuse my leaving, there are eyewitnesses that need my interviewing."

"You mean those hikers? Yeah, we already talked to 'em," Morty said, standing in Looker's way. "They didn't see any murdering, but all of them were pretty convinced that Suicune was here. Then they came across the bodies, and after having lunch and taking a little nap, they called the police."

Looker just started at Morty, while Eusine kept crawling around their feet, pulling tufts of grass off the ground and putting them in his pockets while mumbling to himself.

"We told you," Morty said to Looker, "we're taking over this investigation. This kind of stuff is handled by the LPS. Besides, shouldn't you be out there assaulting protesters or stopping people from downloading music or something?"

"Yes, leave it to us," Eusine said as he got up and put his grass-stained hand on Looker's shoulder. "I have come to a conclusion that Suicune isn't behind this crime anyway. Clearly those hikers are merely suffering the side-effects of their parents being cousins or something like that. Or maybe it's the mountain air…"

"We're at the seashore, dingus," Morty snapped and whacked Eusine on the head. "Come on, we need to give a statement to those reporters over there…"

"Ooh, cameras!" Eusine yelled. "Me first!"

As Morty and Eusine walked away, Looker was left standing alone, staring after them while opening and closing his mouth, leaving him wondering what had just happened. Then, he sharpened and yelled: "CROAGUNK!"

Looker's Pokémon, a Croagunk wearing a deerstalker hat, quickly ran to him and gave him a magnifying glass. Looker snatched the magnifying glass and adjusted his trenchcoat while staring after Morty and Eusine with contempt. He _would_ get to the bottom of this case. "Legendary Pokémon Society"… yeah, right. What kind of loser would spend his life dreaming about some legendaries?

* * *

**Author's Notes: Here we begin the first chapter of When Worlds Collide, focusing on Giratina's plot to return from the Distortion World, but moreso on the wacky trainers who travel through Kanto and Johto and inadvertly stumble on the way of this plot. This season, we'll be focusing on Kris, Lyra, Silver and Leaf. I usually don't use OC's except for one, whose role in the story is like Forrest Gump's, somehow stumbling onto the path of the actual heroes. We'll be seeing him in the next chapter. Please tell me what you think so far! This is just a prologue, and the story begins properly from then next one. I made sure to write it beforehand so I can upload regularly, and I'm much more careful with spelling, grammar and the overall flow of the story than before. There won't be much A/N, but I felt I needed to explain the story a bit here**.

**This won't be a journey fic in the traditional sense, altough almost every place in the Pokémon world will be visited anyway, but the focus is on something else. The style of this story (and particularly this season) is mostly comedic, but not completely. I try to focus a lot on plot progression, characterization, cool Pokémon battles and stupid jokes.  
**

**This is sort of a rewrite of my earlier story, "Loser's Log", combining it and my other stories into a much better one than before. And this time I will keep my promise about finishing it. The ending that I had planned for my previous fic will be morphed into this one instead. But you don't have to read any of my old stories (and you probably shouldn't, either) to get a feel of this. This first story should be about 26 chapters long.  
**

**All feedback is appreciated and taken into account! Thanks for reading and I hope you stay tuned.**

Next up: "**The Best Is Yet To Come**", when we jump into Kanto and see how a complete idiot handles his first Pokémon...


	2. The Best Is Yet To Come

**CHAPTER TWO: **_**THE BEST IS YET TO COME**_

_**Location: Trainer's School, Viridian City, Kanto**_

_Captain's log: "My days spent being stuck in this school are coming to an end. I should know, I had a dream last night. A prophetic dream, I think, since my bed was all sticky in the morning. There were legendary Pokémon in that dream, legendaries I've seen in those cards that Jimmy kid next door sold to me. Man, it cost me a bundle, but it was so worth it – no one else in this whole town has a MewThree card like I do – it's so rare even the Pokémon encyclopedia doesn't have anything about it. I wonder what it's like in real life. I-_"

"For Arceus' sake, Stephens!" the teacher yelled from the front of the class. "Stop scribbling in that diary of yours and listen! You only have this _one_ class left!"

Shane Stephens was well over eighteen years old, although looking at his short, skinny physique, on would think he hadn't even had puberty yet. He had about as much muscles as a Japanese schoolgirl, and had blonde, messy hair, big blue eyes and a look on his face that made him look like he was constantly confused by something. His parents had a theory that life itself was too confusing for him to grasp most of the time.

Shane was the only student in class, as his other classmates had graduated years ago, though this had less to do with learning difficulties and more with the fact that Shane only went to school when he remembered to do so. Shane insisted that he had a lot on his mind – his teacher insisted that he had _nothing_ on his mind.

Except legendary Pokémon, of course. He was obsessed with meeting some and recording his encounters to his scrapbook, which he kept around with him at all times.

"Yes, sir!" Shane responded to his teacher. "Except that it's a _journal_, not a diary," he muttered under his breath.

"Good," the teacher said and continued reading from his book. "Now, pay attention. According to ancient folklore, Giratina, after being banished to the Distortion World by Arceus, would one day return to 'fuse' the two worlds. This would cause 'worlds to collide', as scholars have described it. This apocalyptic event brings me back to chapter 78-B, in which…"

Shane had stopped listening around "pay" and started writing on his diary again:

"_Mr. McFleetwood started rambling about religious studies again. I wish something interesting would happen in this school. About three years ago, this dude wearing a red cap and a Pikachu came in, though I don't really know what the fuss was about. All I know is that he kept looking at my notes, which I only had about two pages of. But that was three years ago! Now I have four._"

"_Now, should I die in some awesome and heroic fashion and this diary is found by dudes two millions years later, I just wish to say this… do you guys have bigger nostrils on average than people today? If so, write back ASAP. Oh, and also, I am Shane Stephens, the man behind this humble log. I do not wish to be a trainer, or a coordinator, or a ranger, or a trainer, or a breeder, or a trainer… did I say 'ranger' already? Well, anyway, I want to be a guy who… knows stuff about legendary Pokémon. What do you call that anyway? Legendary…er?_ _Hmm…_"

"_Now, since my name is so stupid, you may call me Captain Shane, Lord Shane or Übermeister Shane. I got that last one from this movie I saw. It was about this guy who rode a Sharpedo around the world, searching for the guy who killed his wife and ate his Poochyena. Or was it the other way around? Note: remember to torrent Übermeister._"

"_As I graduate from Trainer School a few years later than I had intended, I finally get my first Pokémon. My parents didn't really have time to catch me one, so their friend Ferguson is having one delivered for me. He's cool, since he runs a Pokémon Daycare and all. He often takes care of me, but I don't mind, since I know my parents have careers and all. Though it's weird… my dad's an architect, but his office seems to be in that bar across the street he told me to never come to. My mom's around sometimes, usually once a month. She has some desk job at Silph Co. Their vice president was actually at our house once, having a meeting with my mom. She seemed to loudly agree with a lot of things being said. But I like hanging with Ferguson – he always lets me play with matches_."

After graduating unceremoniously and being told to never come back, Shane headed to meet Ferguson, although it took a while as he kept making the wrong turns due to being busy writing his diary while walking.

Shane met Ferguson at the Church of Sage Giallo, where he and a few others were listening to a preacher quite intently.

"Heed my warning!" the preacher yelled from the altar. "The signs of the apocalypse are near. Do not fall for the temptation of the beast from the Distortion World, for its path is full of lies and deceit…"

Making no notice of the preacher, Shane moved past the rows of benches to sit next to Ferguson. He was about five years older than Shane and at 6'3'', was a giant compared to the five-foot-two Shane. Ferguson was wearing a suit, making Shane look rather ridiculous next to him in his scruffy clothing.

"Didcha get it?" Shane asked the moment he had sat down. "Huh? Didcha?"

"The Pokémon?" Ferguson said without taking his eyes off the preacher. "Sure. Here."

Ferguson dropped a small ball on Shane's palm. It was about the size of a ping-pong ball, half of it red and half of it white, with a black stripe and a button in the middle. Shane's earlier enthusiasm was gone in an instant.

"Wow, that's it?" he said. "It's awfully small… and what does it do anyway? Doesn't it have any eyes? Oh snap… did I just poke it in the eye?"

"It's _inside_ the ball," Ferguson sighed. "Come on, I'll show you."

Ferguson and Shane headed to the church parking lot. Ferguson snatched the Poké Ball from Shane and pressed the little button. The ball instantly grew to the size of a baseball, almost making Shane fall down from the shock.

"Okay…" Shane said nervously. "Um… what if it attacks me?"

"It won't," Ferguson said. "You don't need that. Where'd you get it anyway?"

Shane looked at the baseball bat he was holding at the ready, shrugged, and threw it away, accidentally breaking the windows from someone's car in the process. Ferguson didn't even blink an eye to this, merely gave the Poké Ball back to Shane.

"I got it from the Lavender Volunteer Pokémon House," Ferguson explained while Shane kept staring at the Poké Ball like he was in a trance. "It's a little older than most starter Pokémon are, but it's the best I could get… they said it's been through a lot… try to open it."

Shane gulped and held the ball as far from his face as he could. Though he had no idea what to do, the ball only had one button, so Shane pressed it. The Poké Ball opened, and a red beam of energy erupted from it. The beam hit the ground and a Pokémon materialized in front of them. It was a Sandshrew, a small, yellow, tailed, bipedal Pokémon with dry, craggy skin, sharp claws and big, black eyes. It looked like a cross between an armadillo and a pangolin… only yellow. The first thing Shane noticed was that it looked much fatter than in books or TV.

The Sandshrew shook its head a bit and blinked its eyes. Slowly, it turned to look up at Shane and Ferguson, then squeaked in terror and curled itself into a ball and started shivering. Shane looked at the display in confusion.

"_That's_ going to protect me from harm?" he asked. "From wild Pokémon, crazy axe murderers, those monsters living under my bed and overeager Jehova's Witnesses?"

"Yup," Ferguson said.

"Huh," Shane uttered as he stared at the terrified little Sandshrew. "Well, come to think of it, I don't really need protection anyway. Once I actually walked all the way to the Poké Mart – and back – all by myself!"

Shane picked up the Sandshrew – despite its chubbiness, it was surprisingly light. It was still curled up in a ball, making it about the size of a basketball. Shane briefly though about how hilarious it would be to shoot hoops with the little Pokémon, but eventually came to his senses.

"I think I should nickname it," Shane said. "Say, Ferguson, have you ready any 'Sue, the Master Trainer' books?"

"No, and I don't want-"

"So, whenever Sue catches a new Pokémon," Shane explained, "she gives them these really cool nicknames. Now let's see… it's a Sandshrew… so I'll nickname it… Shrew! Nice, huh?"

"Yeah, well, whatever," Ferguson said and looked at his bare wrist. "Oh, look at the time, I gotta run. Take care and so on. Oh, and your parents say hi."

Ferguson ran back into the church while Shane kept staring at his new Pokémon. It took Shane several minutes to realize Ferguson was even gone, but his mind was preoccupied. The Sandshrew was also starting to realize that Shane wasn't going to gobble him up, and uncurled itself, looking Shane with wide eyes.

"It's okay," Shane said. "Hiya, Shrew! I'm, like, your trainer now."

Shane put Shrew on the ground and walked away from the parking lot, climbing on top of a hill nearby, with Shrew curiously following behind.

"We're going to bring this region on its knees, you and I," Shane declared pompously. "You see, Shrew – oh, yeah, that's your name now – I'm going to become the greatest 'legendary Pokémon expert guy' this world has seen. And with you by my side, the world will tremble before Übermeister Shane and his Mighty Shrew."

Shrew squeaked in agreement. Usually it would be terrified of someone talking like that, but Shane couldn't be intimidating even if he tried.

"And our journey will begin," Shane announced, "from _there_!"

Shane pointed to the distance, to the bunch of trees that formed Viridian Forest, dark, maze-like woods that separated Viridian City from Pewter City. The people in Viridian City said that the forest "helps keeping the scum away".

Shrew, however, was less enthusiastic, starting to tremble again as it looked at the dark forest.

"Now, in 'Sue, the Master Trainer', Sue always kept her Pokémon on the field," Shane said. "So, Shrew, as we go into the forest, you'll-"

But Shrew responded by climbing up Shane's leg and pressing the button of the Poké Ball Shane had attached to his belt. In a split-second, Shrew was sucked back into its comfy capsule. Shane sighed.

"Fine, be that way!" Shane groaned. "At least _I'm_ not a big coward!"

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Viridian Forest, Kanto**_

_Captain's log: "After entering Viridian Forest and traveling for about three minutes, I had my first life-or-death-encounter. After ten minutes of wrestling with it, I realized it was actually my own shadow, but still, heck of a fight. As the sun set and I heard a Hoothoot somewhere, I courageously started shrieking and running about, knowing that my actions would scare off any muggers and/or molesters. Eventually, I decided to set up camp, although I hadn't packed a tent or a sleeping back or anything. The only things I have in my backpack are books, empty Poké Balls, a pair of binoculars, a camera and my di- journal. Good thing I had crammed this smelly old blanket in there too, to keep my stuff dry._"

The next morning, Shane was woken up by the pitter-patter of many pairs of tiny feet next to him. As he opened his eyes, a small, bug-type Pokémon was staring at him, only a few inches from his face.

At first, Shane shrieked in horror and jumped up on his feet, then realized that he had been startled by a Weedle – a brown, hairy worm about the size of Shane's foot with a sharp, white horn and a round, pink nose.

"Stupid Weedle!" Shane cursed. "I need my beauty sleep! Shoo!"

And without any thinking, Shane kicked the ground next to Weedle, causing the hairy bug to scamper away, making some angry yet adorable noises as it went. Shane turned his back to the Weedle and started cramming the blanket back into his backpack.

…_bzzzzzzz…_

"Shrew, you hear something?" Shane asked after finishing up and closing his backpack.

…_bzzzzzzzzzzzz…._

"Oh, right," Shane said and slapped his forehead. "Silly me, you're in your Poké Ball. Though if you _can_ hear me there, then just answer me this: do your hear something? This strange buzzing noise?"

…_bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….._

"Just, you know, say it in Pokéspeak," Shane said. "Like, one squeak for yes, two squeaks for-"

…._BZZZZZZZZZ…._

The buzzing got so loud that Shane turned around and recoiled in terror at what he saw: a dozen Beedrill, huge, bipedal wasps, were flying towards him, their stingers ready to impale any intruders. Shane hastily grabbed his backpack and started running away in terror.

But a lifetime of doing nothing had taken its toll on Shane's fitness, causing him to run out of breath after about ten seconds of running. He stopped and frantically looked around him, the Beedrill still hot in pursuit. Desperately, he lunged into a bush, fully knowing that the Beedrill had him on their sight the whole time. As the buzzing got louder and louder, Shane curled into a fetal position and covered his face with his hands, ready for the inevitable-

Only it never arrived. Instead, Shane heard the sound of crackling electricity and lots of angry buzzing coming from nearby. Then, the buzzing stopped abruptly. Shane dared to come out of the bush, spotting two unconscious Beedrill on the ground, the others nowhere in sight.

His rescuer emerged from a small puddle: a small, serpentine Pokémon with smooth, blue skin and a big, round nose. It was almost like…

"Hold on," Shane said to the Pokémon and took out his copy of '_The Guide to the Pokémon of Kanto_' from his backpack.

Nervously flipping through the pages, Shane eventually found the picture of the Pokémon he was looking for and compared it to the one calmly standing only a few feet away from him. There was no question of it: that thing was a Dratini.

"Cool!" Shane exclaimed. "I've only seen one in pics before… what are the chances of me bumping into one here, where there aren't even any wild Dratini? It must have been drawn here by my innate awesomeness…"

Shane opened the only Poké Ball on his belt, and Shrew popped out, rubbing its eyes and yawning.

"Shrew," Shane said. "Ready for your first battle? We're gonna capture a new member for our team!"

Shrew shuddered nervously at the thought of battling, but seemed to relax a bit when its opponent turned out to be just a cute little snake/dragon-thing.

"Okay, Shrew, hold up…" Shane said as he browsed through his book. "I don't know much about your attacks or anything… umm… use Scratch!

Shrew nodded, raised its paw and charged towards Dratini with its claws extended. But before it came even close, Dratini responded by firing Shrew with a Water Gun, sending it flying backwards until it hit a tree and lost consciousness.

"Shrew!" Shane cried out, then shrugged and recalled the little Pokémon. "Oh, well… I think you softened it enough. Plus, it can use water _and _electricity. I gotta have that!"

Shane threw one of his empty Poké Balls at the Dratini, but it was stopped mid-air by a human hand. To Shane's surprise, the Poké Ball was thrown back at him by a man appearing from the thicket.

He was tall, and Shane was immediately awestruck by the way the guy carried himself – he was full of cold confidence, his face being completely expressionless as he approached Shane. He had spiky, red hair and wore some kind of uniform, complete with a long, black cape.

"Ohmygosh, Shrew!" Shane said, forgetting that his Sandshrew was still unconscious, "we just ran into Zubatman!"

"Actually," the man said coldly, "I'm Lance. And this is my Dratini that just saved your hind, so you could grateful instead of, you know, trying to capture it."

"Lance…" Shane said and scrunched his face into 'thinking mode'. "Hmm… oh, were you the one who made that statue of Palkia disappear on TV? 'Cuz that was awesome…"

"No," Lance replied and calmly returned his Dratini to its Poké Ball as he spoke. "Been the Pokémon Champion of the Indigo League, spanning both Kanto and Johto, ever since Red quit. Used to be a member of the Elite Four. Also worked for the International Police…?"

Shane just stared blankly.

"Oh, and also a member of a certain organization," Lance continued, now with a hint of irritation in his voice as he took a black badge from his pocket and showed it to Shane. "We used to be more secret, but I guess it doesn't matter now that our newest member told all about us on national television…"

Shane looked at the badge. The letters 'LPS' were written in big, yellow letters on the black background.

"Lesbian Pilot Stunts?" Shane asked. "Sorry, I'm not that into sports."

"It stands for Legendary Pokémon Society," Lance corrected and put the badge back into his pocket before Shane smeared it with his fingerprints.

Hearing the words 'legendary Pokémon' made Shane lose his balance, forcing Lance to grab his collar and pull him back on his feet. With newfound interest towards Lance, Shane restrained himself from starting to jump up and down in excitement. He stared Lance in awe as he babbled rapidly:

"Whoa, Legendary Pokémon Society? As in, a bunch of people who go around the world, solving mysteries related to legendary Pokémon, protecting them from the people and people from them? Being the thin line that keeps the world from plunging into eternal state of chaos?"

"In a nutshell," Lance said. "We also get ten percent off while riding the Magnet Train."

"Can I join?" Shane asked quickly.

Lance cocked an eyebrow at this question.

"No," he said coldly.

Shane pouted. "Why?" he asked. "Okay, yeah, I tried to catch your Dratini and I have been staring at you awkwardly for quite some time, plus I only started my Pokémon journey yesterday, but… well, I've got nothing to add."

"Exactly," Lance replied. "Our members are the cream of the crop, the best the human race has to offer. We're the only ones who stand a chance against legendary Pokémon and we're the only ones who really know anything about them."

Lance looked at his wrist in a way that reminded Shane of Ferguson.

"Would you look at the time," he said. "I gotta run."

"But… okay," Shane sighed. "So, who do I talk about joining?" he added wishfully.

Lance rolled his eyes, but finally relented when Shane kept staring at him like a dog begging for a treat. "Look, umm…"

"Shane."

"Yeah, look, Dane," Lance said. "If you _really_ want to join the Legendary Society, you need to prove your worth. Improve yourself, make yourself stronger, better, faster, smarter, harder… farther… whatever. Then contact us again. I gotta go now. See you, Crane!"

And with that, Lance disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Shane stared after him, mesmerized by his words. _Legendary Pokémon Society_… _it would be a dream come true. And I've only been traveling for ten hours!_

"Come on, Shrew!" Shane yelled at the unconscious armadillo. "We've got some improving to do… I'm not exactly sure what it means, but I suppose I'll have to get lots and lots of badges. Let's go!"

**~o~O~o~**

_Captain's Log: "Today, my life truly began: I met the famous, awesome, ruggedly handsome Pokémon Champion Lance in Viridian Forest the other day, and after I told him who I was, he was so impressed he almost soiled his cape. He asked me to join the world-famous Legendary Pokémon Society, but under one condition: I must improve my already amazing, if well-hidden battle powers and become the greatest, so the Legendary Pokémon Society will welcome me with open arms. Although I'd rather have cake than arms…_"

Shane had wondered around the Viridian Forest all afternoon, walking in circles around the pathway, his eyes stuck in his journal. He didn't seem to mind, being possessed by the idea of joining the LPS one day. He didn't even notice another guy approaching him: a guy about Shane's age with a Mohawk haircut and a Spearow on his shoulder. He smiled and waved at Shane before walking up to him. Shane briefly glimpsed at the guy, but kept writing on his journal.

"Hiya!" the guy greeted Shane and shook his hand, Shane responding to the handshake absent-mindedly. "I'm Timmy, from Pewter City. Been practicing my birdcall here – didn't think of bumping into anyone."

"_Some guy is talking to me, says his name is Timmy. He wears overalls and has a black Mohawk, and while he's about my age, he seems to be in better shape than me – probably more of an outdoorsy type, though I'm sure my mind is in better shape. He carries around a birdcage, a Spearow is sitting on his shoulder, he talks about birdcalls and his overalls are smeared with bird droppings. My guess is that he's an insurance salesman_."

"Um… hello?" Timmy said, still smiling cheerfully but curious as to why Shane keeps writing on his journal.

"'_Um… hello', he says to me, and I wish I had brought my anti-insurance salesman kit with me, but if I must, I shall face him with dignity, so-_"

"I said hello!" Timmy yelled, and Shane finally stopped writing.

"Sorry," Shane said, "I was lost in the valley of my thoughts and stuff. I'm Sha… Courageous. Captain Courageous."

"Really?" Timmy said, sounding genuinely surprised. "'Cuz your backpack says 'Property of Shane Stephens, please refrain from stealing'."

"Yes, that's what I said," Shane said. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you and all but you're blocking my path and I need to get to Pewter City to win a badge and prove my righteousness or something."

"Pewter City Gym?" Timmy uttered and smacked Shane on the shoulder. "Well I'll be darned, I'm going there too! But first, there's this real cool place you gotta see if this is your first time in Pewter City!"

"Uh, no thanks…" Shane muttered, but Timmy was already pulling Shane's arm to make him follow, causing Shane to sigh. "Fine…"

_**Location: Pewter Museum of Science, Pewter City, Kanto**_

Luckily enough, Timmy just happened to have two tickets to the latest expo in the Pewter City Museum. On the first floor, there were several fossils and ancient Pokémon skeletons on display. Timmy didn't seem to care – instead, he kept looking around the museum, searching for something, all the while muttering something to himself:

"Where is she… where is she…"

Shane ignored Timmy and walked the stairs up to the second floor to see something much more interesting than dusty old skeletons: the Space Expo. The walls were full of posters about various planets and even stuff about "other dimensions" as well as pictures of Pokémon Shane had never seen before: weird, pink, pudgy creatures called "Clefairy" as well as little, black Pokémon that resembled alphabets with one, big eye in the middle. On display, there were models of space shuttles, and in the middle of it all, a huge chunk of rock surrounded by a velvet sash and two guards. Only on person in the museum seemed interested in the rock – everyone else kept wondering about the other stuff, and a little girl was pointing at a Clefairy poster, screaming at her dad to get her one.

Shane walked up to the big rock, reading the sign next to it saying "Moon Stone". The guy investigating was big and burly, and even though it was warm in the museum, he was wearing a heavy, black coat and a scarf that completely obscured his face. _Must be one of those mystery geeks_, Shane thought and walked up to the guy, cheerfully announcing his presence.

"Hiya, friend!" Shane said and slapped the guy on the shoulder. "The truth is out there, right? Whaddya make of this big rock here?"

The guy flinched and turned to face Shane – besides having his face obscured by a scarf, he also had sunglasses and a hoodie underneath his thick jacket, making him look like one of the terrorists that Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan always fought in Shane's favorite TV show, "Saving The World By Kicking Its Arse".

"Uh, the, uh Moon Stone, huh?" the guy mumbled – the scarf couldn't quite hide his smelly breath. "Yes, indeed, powerful stuff… meteorite that came from another dimension… crashed on Mt. Moon… I must go!"

And with that, he left. Shane just shrugged. _Late for a sci-fi convention, I guess_. Shortly after that, Timmy climbed up the stairs and ran to Shane, looking agitated and sweaty.

"She's not here!" Timmy panted as he stopped next to Shane, looking nothing like his previously cheerful self. "C'mon, let's go, to the gym!"

"Who's not here?" Shane wondered.

"What? Oh, never mind that!" Timmy said and put on a big, creepy smile again. "Got a good look? Cool, let's go!"

Since Shane would have no doubt got lost if he tried to find the gym by himself, he followed Timmy around as they walked the cobbled streets of Pewter City, passing by a lot of gray, stone buildings. Compared to the lush and green Viridian City, Pewter looked dreadfully boring, as the only spot of green there was a garden where a rude old dude was spraying Repel and yelling at people not to stomp on his flowers.

Shane kept quiet, while Timmy was talking nonstop, without even taking a breath between sentences:

"Good thing I bumped into you, Shane, there aren't many trainers around here, mostly just bug catchers who're mainly preoccupied with slimy stuff. My folks always say that Viridian Forest is good for Pewter City as they keep the scum from Viridian out, present company excluded. I don't usually go to the forest, but I needed to catch a Pidgey, I'm a bird keeper, see, got a Spearow from my dad as a starter. I love birds, don't you? Oh, I bet you do. Though not 'love' as in _love_, since, you know, that's illegal, and I've got a girlfriend anyway. Well, had a girlfriend, but we broke up, she cramped my style and everything, y'know? Some researcher chick, bit of a geek, worked at the museum once, mainly into boring stuff if you ask me but she was _hot_ so I thought, why not? Their personality doesn't matter much when they're between you bed sheets, am I right, or am I right?"

Shane grunted in response without even listening- he was updating his diary again.

"Plus, she didn't even care about birds, can you believe that?" Timmy continued ranting in a slightly psychotic way. "Man, have you heard about these awesome things called the 'legendary birds'? I-"

Shane suddenly stopped walking and turned to face Timmy.

"Legendary birds?" he asked.

"Yeah," Timmy replied and the two started walking again, only this time Shane kept staring at Timmy as he spoke. "They say their names are Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres," Timmy explained. "I've only seen 'em in books, but they say Zapdos is seen around that abandoned Power Plant every once in a while, now that I have more Pokémon, I figured I should go check it out…"

Shane started feverishly writing on his diary again, making notes of Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres, though he misspelled all of their names. Next to Zapdos' name, he wrote: 'Power Plant?'

_**Location: Pewter Gym, Pewter City, Kanto**_

The first gym Shane visited in his life (since TV battles didn't count) was about as dull as the rest of Pewter City: a large but seemingly empty, dark building with a Japanese rock garden inside. The gym leader, Brock, was sitting at the far end of the room in a lotus position, meditating. Even though his eyes appeared to be constantly closed, he seemed to notice Shane and Timmy's arrival. Shane made a note of Brock on his journal: "_Suffering from some rare disease, perhaps? Must investigate further_."

Before Shane could open his mouth, Timmy boisterously walked to Brock and announced his plans:

"Okay, Mr. Gym Leader," Timmy said. "I'm here to challenge you. Prepare to be crushed. Y'know, since you're an expert in rocks and all…"

"I have an appointment with my dentist in thirty minutes, so let's just get this over with," the muscular gym leader said rudely and snapped his fingers. Somehow, this coincided with the lights of the gym turning on. Shane stepped away from the battlefield, leaving Brock and Timmy standing several yards away from each other, Timmy holding a Poké Ball confidently and Brock just standing there with his arms folded across his chest.

"Single battle, two Pokémon, no time limit," Brock said, and Timmy nodded.

"Pidgey, I choose you!" Timmy declared and threw his Poké Ball on the battlefield in a ridiculously exaggerated motion.

"Geodude, go," Brock said, sounding almost bored.

Pidgey, a small, plump-bodied bird appeared from Timmy's Poké Ball, while Brock's Pokémon was like a rock with hands and a face.

"Geodude, Tackle," Brock said, reading a magazine while occasionally looking up at the battle.

"Pidgey, Mud-Slap!" Timmy ordered, yelling out his attacks like an anime hero or something.

Pidgey dodged Geodude's attempts to hit it, then responded by spitting a chunk of mud directly in Geodude's eyes, blinding it.

"Now, Whirlwind!"

Pidgey started flapping its wings rapidly, creating a gust of wind that hurled Geodude across the room, causing it to hit one of the nearby rocks and faint. Timmy cheered victoriously, his Pidgey chirped happily and Brock merely recalled Geodude. He didn't seem fazed at all.

More confident after seeing Timmy beat his first opponent so easily, Shane opened the lone Poké Ball on his belt to let Shrew out to scan the battlefield before it was his turn. Shrew shook its head again and paid close attention to the battlefield.

"Now, make sure you notice what comes next," Shane said. "You're my only Pokémon, so there's no plan B, got it?" Shrew nodded in understanding.

"Onix, go!" Brock yelled and threw a Poké Ball on the floor.

What erupted from the ball was a huge, gray snake apparently made of a chain of big boulders. The Onix was almost thirty feet tall, the rocky spine on its head scratching the ceiling. Timmy gulped in terror, but bravely (well, semi-bravely) soldiered-on.

"Um… Pidgey… use, uh, Mud-Slap," Timmy said quietly.

Pidgey spat some mud at the Onix, but the mud harmlessly bounced off the rocky snake's body. Next, Brock just nodded at the Onix, who swung its huge tail at the Pidgey, sending the bird flying back towards Timmy. Pidgey was unconscious way before it even hit the ground. Timmy, now sweating profusely, recalled Pidgey and nodded at his Spearow instead. The Spearow spread its wings and started flying towards Onix.

"Uh… Spearow, use… I dunno… uh, Leer!" Timmy stuttered.

"Onix, you know what to do," Brock said absently. He was playing with a yo-yo with one hand and holding his magazine with the other.

Unaffected by Spearow, Onix swung its tail again, sending Spearow flying exactly the same way as the Pidgey, knocking it out. Timmy recalled Spearow and sighed.

"Oh, well, I guess I need more training," Timmy said and turned around. "Your turn, Sha-"

But the doors of the Pewter City Gym had been slammed open the moment Shane and Shrew noticed the Onix, and now the two were running away in the distance.

* * *

**Next up: **"Mt. Moon"**, where Shane encounters familiar-looking criminals on, well... Mt. Moon  
**


	3. Mt Moon

**CHAPTER THREE: _MT. MOON_**_**  
**_

_**Location: Route 3, Kanto**_

_Captain's log: "After heroically and selflessly deciding to let Timmy face off with the Pewter Gym Leader, I left the dusts of that town behind me and focused on the bigger picture – surely the Legendary Pokémon Society couldn't care less even if I had the Boulderbadge. I need to focus on something… bigger. Currently, I'm walking towards that big mountain in the west. Some weird kid on the outskirts of the town kept blocking my way when I tried to leave town, though, so I eventually solved the issue by throwing sand at him and running away from Pewter as fast as I could. No wonder they don't have any tourism the-_"

While in the middle of writing a sentence, Shane bumped into someone and fell on the ground. Looking up, he saw he had collided with a girl about his age, maybe a few years older. She had waist-length brown hair and blue eyes, and she was wearing a white porkpie hat, a light blue top and a red skirt.

"You okay?" the girl asked and helped Shane back on his feet.

"Uh, yeah, don't worry about it," Shane mumbled and shook his head a bit – he had probably suffered a concussion in that fall, not that it mattered much. "It happens to me quite often. Uh, my name is… Jack. Jack Cool."

"Really?" the girl asked.

Shane looked embarrassed. "No, not really… it's Shane."

"Leaf," the girl replied and shook hands with Shane, who just stared in confusion, then looked around him wildly. "That's my name, I mean," Leaf clarified. "Leaf Greene."

"Wow, really," Shane said and grimaced. "I don't think I have the worst name around anymore. I'm so sorry for you."

Leaf laughed appreciatively, but Shane seemed to be dead serious. Leaf's smile faded, and an awkward silence formed between the two, as usually happened between Shane and… well, almost anyone.

"Say, you don't happen to be a trainer or anything?" Shane asked, desperate to say something clever.

"Yup, born in Pewter City," Leaf replied briskly. "I'm pretty new to this whole Pokémon battling thing, though."

"Ohhhhh… really?" Shane said slowly, preventing himself from laughing like a cartoon supervillain. _My first victory… at last! You're going down, Leafgreen or whatever your name was!_

"Um, are you okay?" Leaf asked with a hint of concern as Shane just stared into the distance, thinking about his upcoming victory.

Shane was snapped back into reality. "Yes, of course," he said. "I just wondered… maybe we should have a battle? You know, because of this strange rule that whenever two Pokémon trainers look each other in the eye, they have to fight or something."

"There's really a rule like that?" Leaf wondered and shrugged. "I thought only people who got all their battling knowledge from TV thought that way… oh, well, I'm down for a battle. Just one Pokémon each, okay?"

Shane nodded and smiled smugly as he grabbed the only Poké Ball on his belt and enlarged it. Leaf, on the other hand, took a Poké Ball from her yellow shoulder bag.

Acting simultaneously, Shane and Leaf threw their Poké Balls on the ground. Shrew popped out first, not sleepy this time, but horrified to vigilance by its previous encounter with the Onix. Leaf's Pokémon was a Vulpix, a small, reddish brown fox with five orange tails.

"Um, okay, Shrew's attacks, let's see…" Shane mumbled to himself as Leaf politely waited for Shane to make the first move. "So, Shrew… use, uh… Poison Sting!"

Shrew's claws glowed white as it lunged at the Vulpix as fast as it could with its stubby little legs.

"Vulpix, Quick Attack!" Leaf ordered.

Vulpix moved so fast that it seemed to turn invisible for a moment, running out of Shrew's way. It then appeared behind Shrew and tackled it on the ground.

"Aww, sh… oot!" Shane yelled. "Um, okay, Shrew… Defense Curl!

Shrew curled into a ball again. Shane decided that since Shrew's attacks were fairly weak, it could tire Vulpix out just by being defensive.

"Vulpix, Flamethrower," Leaf said.

_Uh-oh_.

Vulpix fired a long blast of flame from its mouth. The flames completely engulfed Shrew and kept doing so for several seconds – Shane wondered how such a little Pokémon had so much fire inside it. When Vulpix stopped, Shrew was still curled up, though it was slightly charred. Then, it uncurled itself and collapsed on the ground.

"Shrew!"

Shane started running towards his Pokémon, but to his surprise, Leaf and her Vulpix ran to its first. Leaf turned Shrew on its back and examined it, looking worried for a moment until she sighed in relief.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Leaf said, picked Shrew up and gave it to Shane. "Sorry about that… I forget how intense Vulpix's attacks can be… but it's been training for quite a while now."

"Quite a while?" Shane repeated as he held Shrew in his arms. "I thought you said you just started…"

"Well…" Leaf said slowly and started kicking the ground bashfully, avoiding eye contact with Shane. "Yeah, I just started as a trainer… but I have owned Vulpix ever since I was eight, and it's been getting a lot of exercise and grooming during its time," Leaf stopped to scratch Vulpix behind the ear, then returned it to its Poké Ball. "To tell you the truth, I was a Pokémon researcher before this. Well, I've studied to become one, anyway… I even worked at the Pewter Museum… briefly…"

"What happened?" Shane asked. His grip on Shrew had loosened and he was holding the Pokémon from its neck, but failed to notice this.

Leaf fell silent and looked at her shoes. Shane, however, lacked a certain thing called tact.

"Hello!" he yelled, thinking Leaf was ignoring him. "I said: what happened?"

Leaf sighed and still looked away from Shane. "I'd prefer not to talk about it," she said quietly. Then she noticed Shrew's eyes had opened and it was silently choking in Shane's grip. "Shane, your Sandshrew!"

Shane looked around him for a while, then remembered he was holding the Pokémon in his arms and let go of Shrew's neck. "Sorry," he mumbled to the Pokémon. "Anyway, good fight. You stayed on your feet for almost a minute! That's our new record!"

Leaf frowned, thinking Shane was being mean to the little Sandshrew, but both Shane and Shrew looked happy about the result. Leaf placed Vulpix's Poké Ball back in her bag and turned to leave.

"Hey, where are you going?" Shane asked.

Leaf stopped and turned around. "Mt. Moon," she replied. "I have, uh, things that need attending there."

"Uh… wait!"

Shane ran after Leaf, still holding Shrew on his arms like a baby with an odd skin condition.

"I'm going there too, I suppose," he said quickly. "Well, going to Cerulean City actually, but there's no other way there. Well, besides the bus, but I can't really afford it since I used my last money to buy Pokémon food from Pewter's Poké Mart. I used up the money I had reserved for my food to buy this," Shane continued and took a short piece of rope from his backpack. "The clerk called it an 'Escape Rope' and said it might come in hand at Mt. Moon… I just doubt I have any time for light bondage while I'm at there…"

Leaf's icy stare stopped Shane's rambling.

"Anyway," Shane said, "it'd sure be nice to have someone to guide me through the cave."

"I guess it's okay…" Leaf said and shrugged. "It would be nice to have someone to talk to for a change. Let's go!"

"Yay!" Shane exclaimed and he, Leaf and Shrew started walking. "Hey, do you know anything about some Pokémon called Zapdos? I looked it up from my guide – never seen it before, actually, since I haven't ever read it to the end… I've only made it to 'T', since big words make me kinda sleepy. Anyway, I saw a picture of it, and WOW, that bird looks like a boss! I even drew pictures of it. Wanna see? Oh, do you have any Pokémon cards? Maybe we could trade… you can't have my MewThree, though! Wait, forget I said that… I don't want you stealing my MewThree… damn it, I said it again…"

After five minutes of walking, Leaf regretted choosing to go to Mt. Moon today of all days.

When Shane, Leaf and Shrew had walked about fifteen minutes (Shrew was badly out of breath since Shane had forgotten to return it to its ball) they arrived to the Pokémon Center where Shane healed Shrew's burns. Leaf sat in the waiting room, reading a newspaper and looking focused. Shane only read the funny pages, which he usually failed to get but laughed at them anyway.

While waiting for the nurse to heal Shrew, Shane noticed a familiar man in the crowd. Though he was skulking in the shadows and had covered his face with a newspaper, Shane immediately noticed his bright red hair.

"LANCE!" Shane yelled to catch the guy's attention.

Everyone who heard Shane's yelling immediately started to look around them, whispering to each other and asking each other if they had any pens and pieces of paper. Upon hearing his name, Lance himself quickly ran to the door and left the center before anyone even noticed him.

Shane grabbed Shrew's Poké Ball from the nurse and quickly ran after Lance, spotting him standing outside the Center and frantically trying to find something from the pockets of his cape.

"Hey, Lance!" Shane shouted again.

"Shut up!" Lance hissed. "I'm supposed to be here incognito."

"Yeah, I had to stop by the bathroom too," Shane nodded. "Anyway, remember me?"

"Sure…" Lance said evasively while still searching his pockets. "Shawn, right? The guy who tried to join our, err… organization."

"Um, yeah," Shane said and didn't bother to correct Lance. "Anyway, have you given it any thought? Can I join?"

"What?" Lance uttered and stared at Shane in disbelief. "I thought I told you 'no'!"

"Oh…" Shane said. "I thought we were just messing around. Okay, yeah, I can handle disappointment," he lied and restrained himself from screaming. "So, uh, what brings you here? Important LPS business?"

Lance made sure there was no one around and lowered his voice a bit. "I wouldn't exactly tell you even if it was, got it?" he said and Shane nodded, though he didn't quite get it. "Actually," Lance said in normal voice again. "I had to stop here to make a call. Did you check the news?"

"I try no to," Shane said, "they give me headaches."

"Well, this one definitely will," Lance said and waved the newspaper he was still holding. "Apparently, Team Rocket is back, and they were last seen in Pewter City. You better be careful."

Shane looked confused for a while.

"Huh…" he said. "Okay, but how exactly is a football team anything to worry about?"

Lance's eye twitched.

"Team Rocket," he said slowly and calmly. "A group of criminals known for their brutal treatment of Pokémon and lack of respect for any kind of law enforcement. They were once led by the elusive Giovanni, but thanks to the efforts of the heroic trainer Red, they were disbanded three years ago."

"Okay, I get it now," Shane said.

Lance doubted that, but he had apparently finally found what he was searching for. He took out a Poké Ball from one of his many pockets, enlarged it and threw it on the ground. A big, bulky, bipedal orange dragon with little green wings and a vaguely hippo-shaped head came out, causing Shane to gasp.

"A Dragonite!" Shane said in awe. "I've never seen one before…well, Sue the Master Trainer had five, but… wow!"

He watched as the Dragonite allowed Lance to climb on its back. Shane then took a few steps backwards and stared the Dragonite as its spread its wings and jumped into the air, flying away with incredible speed – a few seconds later it was merely a little dot in the sky. While Shane still stared long after Lance and Dragonite were too far away to be seen, Leaf came out of the Pokémon Center.

"Shane," she said, holding a copy of the same newspaper Lance was reading. "Did you read this?"

But Shane wasn't listening. He turned to face Leaf, babbling enthusiastically. "Hey, guess who I just saw?" he ranted, almost spitting on Leaf's face. "Lance! The Indigo League Champion! Did you see his Dragonite? Awesome!"

"Lance?" Leaf asked in obvious disbelief. "You met him?"

"Oh, yeah," Shane said pompously. "We go _way_ back. Even in school, we were best friends."

"But isn't he, like, thirty or something?" Leaf asked, frowning.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Shane asked innocently.

"Oh… yeah," Leaf said and showed Shane the newspaper. On the front page, there was merely picture of a big, red 'R'. "Team Rocket is here! You know about them, right?"

"Absolutely!" Shane said and started quoting from memory: "A group of trainers known for their brutal treatment of law enforcement, led by the elusive Pokémon but disbanded three years ago by the heroic criminal Red. And I think there was an Italian dude there somewhere… Batistini or someone…"

Leaf stared at Shane with wide eyes for a few seconds, then shook her head. "Uh, yeah, almost right. Anyway, members of the gang were seen in Pewter just yesterday… exactly like three years ago. They're after something at Mt. Moon."

"The gift shop, maybe?" Shane suggested.

"Doubtfully," Leaf said seriously. "Three years ago, they were here stealing fossils… but the museum already unearthed the last one a year ago… so that leaves just one thing…"

"What?" Shane asked.

But Leaf just shook her head again and looked at the entrance to Mt. Moon which was right next to the Pokémon Center. Then she looked at Shane again, looking nervous.

"Shane, I'm sorry, but… you can't go to Mt. Moon today," she said with finality. "I need to deal with Team Rocket. It's my… well, you wouldn't understand."

"People _always_ say that to me," Shane said, his earlier enthusiasm deflated. "Now, maybe there is a _layer_ of truth there, but I can handle it. How dangerous can people calling themselves 'Team Rocket' really be, anyway? And I need to get to Cerulean City. It's vital!"

Leaf looked helpless, then sighed and waved Shane to follow her. Shane grinned and followed after Leaf, stepping into the cave.

_**Location: Inside Mt. Moon, Kanto**_

For a cave, the place was much brighter than Shane imagined. Leaf pointed out the lamps placed on the walls, telling that Team Rocket had installed them the last time they were, too.

"…but I wonder why they would do things exactly the same way as three years ago," Leaf wondered out loud, walking ahead and occasionally making a turn in the very spacious tunnel. "Remind me to call Pewter Police when we get out… someone needs to get rid of these lamps. They're really bothering the Pokémon here. With too much light, their energy will be sapped out of them… they can't any sleep and will eventually die out. It's terrible how some people…"

As Leaf started lecturing Shane about Pokémon rights and the treatment humans gave them, Shane was focused on making more diary entries, most of it stream-of-consciousness nonsense.

The tunnel they walked in was completely round and its rocky walls were smooth. The tunnel rose upwards, quickly tiring both Leaf and Shane, though Leaf still had a determined look on her face. Occasionally, a Sandshrew was seen burrowing or running away from the light, but Shane just walked after Leaf and kept writing his diary:

_Captain's log: "After taking the lead and deciding to go kick these Team Rocket dudes away from Kanto, I boldly stepped into the caverns of Mt. Moon, climbing towards the summit. If I defeat these evil dudes, I will no doubt be accepted into the Legendary Pokémon Society. Wasn't Lance, cool, though? He had a frickin' dragon! Plus he's pretty buff. Maybe I should start working out too, before I get into the society… although I could be the brains of the outfit too… after all, there's no muscle more powerful than the brain… except the brain isn't really a muscle, so-_"

"Shane, stop writing for a second!" Leaf snapped.

Shane looked up and put his diary and pencil back into his backpack. The two had arrived to a much larger cave, with entrances to more tunnels located all over the place, some with conveniently placed ladders located near them. The big cave didn't have any lamps, as sunlight poured in through cracks in the rocky ceiling.

"Just follow me," Leaf ordered.

"How do you know this place so well?" Shane wondered. "All of those tunnels look the same."

"I came here often back when I… when I worked for the museum," Leaf explained. "We used torches or flashlights to navigate through the cave. We didn't come often, though, so we wouldn't bother the local Pokémon too much. After all, I…"

_Here she goes with the nature-stuff again_, Shane wrote on his diary. _Though, come to think of it, Sue the Master Trainer was the president of Greenpeace and Amnesty for a while… maybe the LPS will let me join if I do the same too…_

"Oh, yeah, damn those Rockets, destroying the ozone layer and everything," Shane declared, walking faster and moving ahead of Leaf. "Also, I bet they stomped on some flowers on their way here, too. Can you believe that? Flowers are people too!"

"What?" Leaf wondered.

"Hold it!" Shane yelled suddenly.

He held his arm in front of Leaf to stop her, causing Leaf to bump into Shane's arm chest-first.

"Ow!" she exclaimed.

But Shane didn't seem to notice the accidental bad-touching. He pointed at the cave's ceiling, noticing a small, blue Pokémon sleeping upside down, its wings folded around its body. It kept itself away from the sunlight, but Shane could still recognize it.

"Look at that, a Zubat!" Shane said triumphantly. "And, unless my memory fails me, it's a rare and powerful Pokémon!"

"Actually, it's-"

"Shrew, go!"

Shane ignored Leaf and summoned his Pokémon. The Sandshrew still seemed a bit weak after its battle with Vulpix, but nonetheless, it raised its paws and readied to scratch its enemies raw if it had to.

"Shrew, you see that Zubat in the ceiling?" Shane asked and pointed again. "Now, being an expert in this whole catching business - or catcharoo as I like to call it – I know I need to weaken it before I throw a Poké Ball at it. Ready?"

Shrew nodded and turned to stare at the Zubat. And then… it did nothing. Shrew looked up, then turned to face Shane again, blinking in confusion. Shane looked up too.

"Okay, it's a little high up," Shane admitted, "and you don't exactly have wings… yet. Hold on."

Shane's cunning strategy was to pick a rock from the ground and throw it towards the Zubat. It didn't hit the sleeping bat, but struck the ceiling right next to it, waking it up. The Zubat spread its wings and screeched, then started flying towards Shane and Shrew.

And following it was a couple of dozen more Zubat, emerging from the shadows and flying towards Shrew, all screeching at it with their sharp teeth exposed. Leaf quickly took cover behind a rock, while Shane and Shrew just stared in horror.

"Um… Shrew, Defense Curl!" Shane yelled desperately.

Shrew squealed, no doubt hoping Shane would have ordered it to run away, but nonetheless curled into a ball again while Shane ducked and covered his face with his hands. Fortunately, the Zubat merely flew past them, though some of them stopped to angrily strike Shrew or Shane with their wings, their sharp-edges leaving cuts in Shane's arms.

Eventually, all of them flew away, except for one: the one Shane had almost hit with the rock. It flew towards Shrew, mouth wide open and sank its teeth into the little Sandshrew.

Shane closed his eyes, cringing at Shrew's fate, but to Shane's surprise, Shrew didn't shout or anything. Instead, the Zubat let out an annoyed screech. It started flying around in circles around Shrew, and Shane had noticed that it had chipped a tooth. Reacting as fast as he could, Shane took an empty Poké Ball from is pocket and threw it at the Zubat. He didn't even have to hit it: the ball stopped mid-air next to Zubat, opened up and sucked the Zubat inside with a big red flash.

The Poké Ball dropped, wiggled on the ground for a bit, then stopped, the red light in the center turning off.

"Yes!" Shane exclaimed and ran to the Poké Ball, picking it up with one hand and grabbing Shrew with the other. "Nicely done, Shrew! I didn't think you had it in ya."

Shrew just looked confused, wondering what it had done. Shane put Shrew on the ground and again and smiled at the Poké Ball in his hand.

"Poor little guy, though," he said. "I've chipped many, many teeth in my lifetime. Like that one time I saw a ceramic cake at the Poké Mart, so I… well, never mind. Don't you worry, Zuba. You're going to see a Poké-dentist as soon as we get to Cerulean."

"Zuba?" wondered Leaf, who saw that the coast was clear again. "You're going to nickname it… Zuba?"

"Uh huh," Shane said excitedly, shrunk Zuba's Poké Ball and placed it on his belt. "Creative, no?"

"Yyyyeaaah…" Leaf said slowly. "But, uh, what will you call it when it evolves into a Golbat?"

"Into a what?" Shane wondered.

"Ah, forget it," Leaf said impatiently and adjusted her shoulder bag. "Come on, we need to get to the-"

Suddenly, Leaf stopped talking and looked around her wildly. As Shane was about to loudly ask what was wrong, Leaf placed her hand on Shane's mouth and dragged him behind a rock with her. Shrew followed suit, looking like it was ready to panic.

Listening intently, Shane, Leaf and Shrew heard loud talking, both male and female voices echoing in the cave.

"… this better be it, Miguel," a cold, female voice said. "We've had enough of your tricks. We still remember that you said Nidoran poison made a great aphrodisiac!"

"Hey, ain't my fault you didn't brew it properly," a very raspy male voice replied. "'Sides, I thought you were criminals anyway, what does it matter even it failed to work?"

"Yeah, but you told us we could milk the poison from them," another male voice replied. "Nidoran don't have udders!"

"I didn't tell you squat," the raspy voice said defensively. "It was in that Pokémon biology book I sold you for a _very_ affordable price. Of course it was a forgery! I'm a criminal too!"

Shane stared at Leaf in confusion as they hid behind the rock, Leaf's hand still on Shane's mouth. Leaf silently mouthed 'They're here' and ran her finger across her lips, making a 'zip it' gesture. Shane nodded nervously.

"But anyway," the raspy voice said, louder than last time, "I'm giving you this once-in-a-life time opportunity because I'm big fan of you Rocket types. Petrel is a friend of mine! And besides, I adore your ex-boss… Batistini, was it?"

"Giovanni!" the male and female voice heard before yelled at the same time.

"Right, right," the raspy voice said impatiently. "So, I found this nifty little TM from Cerulean City and taught it to my Raticate… ah, here we are! X marks the spot!"

Shane, Leaf and Shrew could hear the footsteps of the people talking. There were at least four people, plus at least one Pokémon walking alongside them. When she was finally sure Shane wouldn't yell out anything stupid, Leaf pulled her hand away and dared to peek around the rock. Shane did the same.

Three of the people (one woman, two men) were wearing strange, all-black uniforms, almost making Shane yell out "hey, it's that guy from Green Hornet". The uniforms had big, red R's on the chest, and they also included a black cap, gray gloves and gray boots. The woman of the group had green hair and instead of long black pants, wore a short, black skirt. All three seemed young, maybe only slightly older than Shane.

The fourth man, the guy with the raspy voice, was much older than the Rocket Grunts. Shane noticed the familiar black coat: it was the guy he saw earlier in the museum, only with his face visible. He had messy black hair and he looked like he hadn't shaved in weeks. With a big, diabolical smirk on, the guy looked like a cartoon burglar: only the bag with a dollar sign was missing. The raspy-voiced man had a large Raticate with him.

"Raticate, Dig!" the raspy-voiced man, Miguel, ordered.

The Raticate responded by enthusiastically yelling out its name and started digging at the ground, using both its webbed "hands" and its enormous incisor teeth.

"Hurry it up, Miguel," the female grunt hissed. "If someone sees us…"

"Don't get your panties in a twist… ma'am," Miguel responded nonchalantly as he watched Raticate's digging. "No one will dare to come near here. I may have carefully sent a few letters to '_Pokéworld Daily_', suggesting something about the terrifying return of Team Rocket…"

"That was you?" the female grunt snapped. "Wasn't this supposed to be a secret operation?"

"Oh? Didn't your boss Petrel explain it to you?" Miguel asked cheerfully. "Oh, well, I guess he shared the info with _trustworthy_ people…"

"So why did he tell it to you?" the grunt asked.

Miguel seemed to ponder the question a moment before shrugging. "Good question," he said. "Anyway, Mr. Petrel is very keen on spreading fear amongst the residents of Kanto. Neither the trainers nor the police will dare to come near, and the Pewter Gym leader is getting a very long haircut… I arranged an internship to the hair salon for a cousin of mine. Sweet girl, but she only does Pokémon haircuts. When she's finally done three hours later, the gym leader's hair will look like a Vulpix's mane! Mwa ha haa!"

The Rocket Grunts didn't join his evil laugh, however, as they just stared at Miguel icily.

"What about the Champion, or the Elite Four?" the female grunt asked, her hands placed on her hips. "If they find out Team Rocket is back-"

"According to my sources, they're preoccupied," Miguel said. He didn't clarify, causing the grunts to eye him curiously. Miguel just smirked knowingly. "As for the archeologists at the museum," he continued, "they won't be coming here for a while, either. They suffered a little accident in Sinnoh…"

Shane heard Leaf breathing heavily behind him. She had clenched her fists and was shaking, glaring at Miguel with fire in her eyes. Shane rolled his eyes.

"Sheesh!" he said to Shrew. "And she thought _I'd_ be noisy!"

Then Shane realized he had forgotten to whisper. Leaf buried her face in her hand in embarrassment.

"Who's there!" the other male grunt yelled, pointing his flashlight at the rock the trio was hiding behind. "Come out so we can see you!"

Leaf glared at Shane, then got up and walked towards the Rockets, her hands raised in the air. Shane gulped and did the same, his blue eyes wide from horror. Shrew decided to follow, though it clearly didn't understand why it had to raise its paws in the air.

"No one will _dare_ to come here, huh?" the female grunt mocked Miguel as she crossed her arms.

But Miguel ignored her and stared at Leaf, rubbing his stubble in thought.

"I know you…" he muttered. "You worked at the museum, with… ah." Slowly, the evil smirk returned on Miguel's face as he stared at Leaf. "So you're the one. Hey, I'm just a messenger… I don't know anything about your friends!"

Miguel was strategically standing in front of his Raticate, who kept digging – the hole it had dug was so deep that only Raticate's tail was visible. Shane noticed this and tried to pull Leaf's arm, but Leaf was still glaring at Miguel. The Rocket Grunts all had Poké Balls ready.

"Give us that bag!" one of the male grunts yelled at Leaf. "Slowly!"

Leaf finally took her eyes off Miguel and took a deep breath, then smiled at the grunt.

"Of course," she chirped

The male grunt approached Leaf slowly and carefully, still holding a Poké Ball in one hand. Shane noticed that the grunt had a nightstick tied to his belt and promised to himself that he would buy Shrew and Zuba a five-star dinner if he made it out alive.

As the others stared, the rocket grunt pulled the shoulder bag off Leaf, causing its strap to break.

And with that, Leaf reacted extremely quickly. She reached her hand in the bag and pulled a Poké Ball from it while simultaneously kicking the grunt in the leg, causing him to cry out and fall down. Leaf opened the Poké Ball and pushed Shane and Shrew out of the way.

The Pokémon that came out was a Ponyta, a horse-sized and –shaped Pokémon with a mane and tail made out of orange flames. At the same time, the two remaining Rocket Grunts threw their Poké Balls, two Zubat coming out of them. Meanwhile, Miguel also pulled a Poké Ball from his pocket.

"Ponyta, Flamethrower!" Leaf ordered as she, Shane and Shrew hid behind a rock again.

Ponyta fired a burst of flames towards the Zubat, forcing them to scatter. The grunt Leaf had kicked tried to get up, but Ponyta kicked him with its hind legs, sending the grunt flying away. Shane prodded Shrew to go help it, but Shrew had already curled itself up again, shivering.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" Shane wondered and grabbed the other Poké Ball on his belt. "Zuba, go!"

As Shane sent out his Zubat, recognizable thanks to the broken tooth, Miguel also sent out a Pokémon of his own. It was a Drowzee, a bipedal, tapir-like Pokémon that was about three feet tall, with a yellow upper body and a brown lower body.

"Zuba, uh… damn, what does Zubat do?" Shane wondered out loud. "Um… do something!"

"Drowzee, Confusion!" Miguel yelled.

Unfortunately for Zuba, 'do something' wasn't a viable command, so Drowzee's blast of purple energy hit it and immediately knocked it out. Shane quickly returned it, while Leaf's Ponyta kicked the two hostile Zubat, knocking them out as well. The Rocket Grunts started shouting, but Miguel's raspy voice drowned their voices.

"Drowzee, Hypnosis!" Miguel ordered.

Drowzee started moving its arms around in an odd, hypnotic manner, releasing blue circles of energy towards Ponyta. Though Ponyta tried to look away, it was quickly locked in a trance. Its eyes started to close, and eventually it fell asleep and fell on the ground, making a loud thud. At the exact same time, Shane, who had also stared Drowzee's hands, also fell asleep and started snoring loudly.

Shrew squealed in terror when it saw its master go down. It stopped shivering and tried to gather enough strength to leave its hiding place, but Leaf had already taken another Poké Ball from her bag.

"Give it up," Miguel mocked. "Whatever you throw at us, my Drowzee will put to sleep!"

Leaf just smiled and threw the Poké Ball on the ground. She had sent out a Paras, a small, big-eyed, crab-like bug-type with two mushrooms growing on its back. The three Rocket Grunts laughed derisively while Miguel's smile grew wider.

"Still trying to put up the good fight?" Miguel asked. "Even though you know you're going to lose? Well, isn't that admirable. No wonder our boss is so interested in you. Drowzee, Confu-"

"Paras, Spore!" Leaf yelled quickly.

Paras didn't have to move an inch. Instead, a cloud of irritating spores was release from one of the mushrooms on its back. Miguel didn't get to finish his sentence, as he quickly started to feel drowsy. He and the Rocket Grunts collapsed on the ground one by one, and Miguel's Drowzee and Raticate were quick to follow suit. Leaf breathed in and held her breath as she walked past the spores, keeping her hat in front of her mouth. She walked to the hole Raticate had been digging, grabbed a strangely shaped dark grey rock from Raticate's mouth. The rock seemed to glimmer in the sunlight pouring into the cave through the cracks in the ceiling. Leaf put the rock in her bag and quickly ran away from the spore cloud before breathing again…

"Great job, Paras," she panted quietly and returned it. "You too, Ponyta," she added warmly, knowing that it was fast asleep as she recalled it too.

Finally, Shrew was able to come out from behind the rock. It blinked in confusion when it saw the Rockets and their Pokémon face first on the ground, snoring. Leaf smiled at the Pokémon.

"Come on, Shrew, let's see if we can drag your friend out," she said and grabbed Shane's legs. "At least he won't annoy us when he's asleep…"

**~o~O~o~**

When Shane woke up, the air outside had gotten chillier and the sky had turned orange – the sun was about to set. Shane was sitting on the cold ground, leaning against a wooden building. Shrew was sitting next to him, squealing in delight as Shane woke up. Shane heard the sounds of wings flapping nearby and saw Zuba circling above him. When it noticed Shane had woken up, Zuba landed on the ground next to Shane.

"Slept well?" Leaf asked. She was standing right nearby

Shane looked around him – the duo had reached the summit, a small clearing outside surrounded by rocks so they couldn't admire the view. The building he was leaning against was the Mt. Moon Gift Shop.

"Whahappenh?" Shane mumbled.

"You don't need to worry about it," Leaf said impatiently. "Look, Shane, I wanted to make sure you were okay, but now I really have to go. Don't worry about Team Rocket – they probably scampered off the minute they had woken up. The Pewter Police won't be afraid to arrest them if they think Team Rocket's 'return' only involves four people."

"But…" Shane was still tired, but able to get up on his feet, still leaning on the gift shop's wall. "What went on in there? They seemed to know you… and why did you want to go there anyway? What were they after?"

Leaf looked uncomfortable and didn't look Shane in the eyes as she answered:

"Don't… don't worry about it. They were after something, but it's with me now. And… well, I want to tell you, but… I don't even know you, and I don't want to put you in any more danger. I have stuff to do now."

Leaf pointed at an entrance to another tunnel.

"Just go down from there and you should come out right near Cerulean City," Leaf said. "But wait until the morning. You'll be attacked by about fifty Zubat on every other step if you wander around the cave at night."

Shane tried to ask more questions, but he was too tired to form any coherent sentences and had a taste of dirt in his mouth, making talking unpleasant. Leaf quickly waved at him and hurriedly left the summit, returning to the cave they had just been in.

Though Shane was initially disappointed, he soon forgot what he was disappointed about and set up camp next to the gift shop. But first, he bought all the Pokémon food he could afford, selling his escape rope to get some more. The food was some kind of brown pellets in a can – not exactly a five-star dinner, but Shrew and Zuba were more than pleased about it. With no food of his own, Shane tried a bit himself. To him, the pellets tasted dry and chalky, but it didn't take long for him to eat a whole can, then stare at Shrew's and Zuba's meals with jealousy.

As it turned dark, Shane quickly fell asleep, somehow enduring the cold with only his smelly blanket to keep him warm. Shrew curled up next to him, while Zuba went out flying, enjoying its favorite time of the day.

Zuba was quick to return, though. It landed next to the sleeping Shane and Shrew, poking Shrew with the jagged edges of its wing. When Shrew woke up, Zuba signaled it to follow and started flying towards the other side of the clearing, towards something obscured by a bunch of huge boulders. Shrew followed, and while it couldn't see well, it could hear the sound of Zuba's wings flapping.

Eventually, Zuba and Shrew found what they were looking for – something hidden behind many boulders was emitting a strange glow. Shrew and Zuba hid behind one of the rocks and watched: the glow seemed to come from another huge rock, but it was different – it was like it was not a part of Mt. Moon at all, its color and texture being completely different. The rock was partially burrowed underground, as if it had dropped from the sky.

And, as Zuba and Shrew watched, several Clefairy started to move towards the rock. They moved like they were dancing, bouncing up and down around the rock, before eventually one of the Clefairy touched it. Glowing bright white, the Clefairy morphed, growing bigger and gaining pink, spikey, wing-like appendages on its back.

The other Clefairy swarmed around the Clefable, their evolved form, then suddenly stopped. Shrew and Zuba watched in confusion as the Clefairy and Clefable seemed to notice something and quickly bounced away. The clearing suddenly got a bit darker as the glow emitted by the fairy Pokémon moved away.

Now frightened, Shrew and Zuba watched as three humans approached the big rock. They were dressed in dark brown robes, looking like monks, complete with shining bald heads that reflected the glow of the rock. One of the monks wrote something on a notepad while another took out a hammer and a chisel and started chipping at the rock, trying to detach a small part of it.

Shrew and Zuba reacted as any Pokémon of Shane's would: they quickly ran back to its master, went to sleep and decided to pretend that everything they had seen was just a dream.

* * *

**Enjoyeth! I try to keep my chapters much shorters from this on, probably around 3000-4000 words with certain exceptions.**

**Next up, chapter three**, "Loser's Log"**, where Shane continues his misadventures. He's not getting any smarter.**


	4. Loser's Log

**CHAPTER FOUR: **_**LOSER'S LOG**_

_Captain's Log, Day 4: "Yes, 'tis the forth day since I left the dusts of Viridian City behind me. On my first day, I was ever so graciously offered the chance to join the Legendary Pokémon Society, but I had to turn it down for now – there is much that needs to be done. Criminal element must be punished. After deciding not to challenge the Pewter City Gym Leader so I wouldn't make him feel bad, I heroically protected the life of Ms. Leaf Greene. It was me, Shrew and my latest Pokémon, Zuba, against a thousand Rocket Grunts. Just as things were at their worst – a thousand _more _came! That made the odds _almost _even. Almost._"

"_I have since visited Cerulean City, but my attempt to win the Cascadebadge didn't go _quite _as planned_..."

"All right, Zuba," Shane ordered during the battle of Misty's gym, he and the gym leader facing each other on opposite sides of a big swimming pool. "Leech Life!"

"Staryu, Tackle!" the gym leader, a 'tomboyish mermaid', yelled.

Shane's Zubat flew towards the Staryu, but to Shane's surprise, Staryu started spinning rapidly, allowing it to float in the air and strike Zuba, sending it plummeting towards the pool. Shane was able to recall it just before it hit the water.

"Okay, Shrew," Shane sighed to the Pokémon next to him. "It's up to you. Swim over there and kick that Staryu's butt!"

Shane paused to look at the Staryu.

"Or its… whatever," he said. "Go!"

Shrew carefully tiptoed at the edge of the pool, then dipped its foot in the water. Shuddering, Shrew pulled its foot out and ran behind Shane's legs, cowering there.

"Um… we give up," Shane said to the gym leader.

"All right!" the leader cheered as she recalled her Staryu. "A new record for me: twenty-eight seconds!"

"Hey, mine too," Shane said, but couldn't say anything more as two gym trainers quickly escorted him out.

_Captain's Log, Day 7: "After a long and arduous journey (which wouldn't have been so arduous if I had a map) I reached Vermilion City. Ah, the sights, the ships, the salty sea and the sweaty, sizzling sailors! Sure of my talent, I went to challenge the local gym leader. They say his name is Lt. Surge. Circumstances eventually made me decide, that uh… that I would find challenges more suitable for me elsewhere._"

Shane stopped at the door of the Vermilion City Gym. He walked to the door and squinted to see the sign posted on the door. It said: '_To prove themselves worthy of battling me, challengers must bypass my traps__ – Lieutenant Surge, Order of the Seven Sages, first class, g'damnit!_"

Shane shrugged and grabbed the doorknob – only to be electrocuted, making him squeal and pull his hand away.

"What the…?"

Shane tried it again, only to get the same result. Shrew, who stood next to him, tapped Shane on the leg to attract his attention, but Shane just kept trying to turn the knob, only to face one electrocution after another.

"Hang on, Shrew," Shane said after his tenth attempt, his fingers burnt and his hair pointing upwards. "I think I have figured this out now."

And then Shane tried to turn the doorknob for the eleventh time, getting shocked again. Finally, the gym's door was opened, and a gym trainer yelled at Shane for wasting their electricity and banned him from ever coming there.

"Well, at least they can't say I didn't I try," Shane said to Shrew as they walked away. "Now, what city comes next…"

_Captain's Log, Day 9: "I have made an amazing discovery: my famous deduction skills allowed me to find a lead on the elusive Zapdos – I met this little blonde guy wearing a straw hat at the Vermilion Pokémon Center, and he (the guy, not the hat) told me he had head rumors about Zapdos being seen near the abandoned Power Plant, which I should get to if I head back to Cerulean, then head east."_

"_My parents did send me for swimming lessons when I was a kid – problem is that I never found the pools. Well, Viridian City is a big place. Maybe they should have sent me to a mapmaking class instead. Anyway, since I can't swim, I could use a water-type Pokémon. I briefly suggested that I buy flippers for Shrew, but it panics every time I mention swimming. So, I went to see Vermilion's Fishing Guru to get a fishing rod. He kept asking me over and over if I liked to fish – and being raised honest, I told him no. And he refused to give me the rod! What a tool! So, I did the only logical thing: sneak into his garage that night and grab one of the rods in there. It's not exactly state-of-the-art, though…_"

_**Location: Route 10, Kanto**_

Shane and Shrew sat by the riverbank, though Shrew kept its distance from the water. Shane was fishing with the 'Old Rod', a fishing rod that was essentially a wooden stick with a string attached to it. Shane hadn't also found any bait or lures, so he just dangled the string in the water. Shane had a piece of straw in his mouth and was basking in the sun, enjoying Kanto's constant sunshine.

"I should get a refund from this rod I stole," Shane complained. "So far, I've only seen a couple of Magikarp, and even they were smart enough not to take a bite. I need some kind of bait!"

Shrew blinked in confusion, then quickly scampered off, as if it had thought Shane was going to tie it with a string and dangled it in the water.

"Oh, come on!" Shane yelled after his Pokémon. "I was just going to use your tail or something!"

But Shrew returned quickly, holding something in its mouth. As it got to Shane, it spit the thing next to him. Shane picked it up: it was a fishing lure, shaped like a little Goldeen, although it didn't have a hook.

"Where'd you get this?" Shane asked Shrew.

Shrew didn't reply, but from a distance, Shane could hear a fisherman yelling about something, then nodded in understanding.

"Ah," Shane said. "Don't worry, though, he'll get it back. To him, fishing's a hobby – to me, it's an important part of my sacred mission… to join the Legendary Pokémon Society!"

Shane yelled the last part of his sentence, hoping someone nearby would come to him and ask him about it. When that didn't happen, Shane shrugged and tied the Goldeen lure to the string, then cast it in the water.

"Now, the key to fishing is patience," Shane lectured Shrew, even though he hadn't used a fishing rod in his life until now, "so we may have to wait for several hours to-"

But Shane stopped talking, as something in the river almost pulled the old rod from his hands. Shane responded with force, struggling against whatever he had caught. Shrew helped him, pulling his leg, and eventually Shane pulled his catch away from the river.

It was a Poliwag, a little blue water-type Pokémon, slightly smaller than Shrew. It resembled a spherical tadpole with stubby little legs. Its most striking was the black and white spiral on its abdomen, covering most of the Pokémon's body.

"Yes!" Shane cheered. "Okay, Shrew – attack!"

As the Poliwag just looked around in confusion, Shrew hid behind Shane's leg, covering its eyes with its paws – it wasn't keen on getting hit with more water.

"Fine," Shane grumbled.

He whistled, and Zuba, who was hanging upside-down on a nearby tree, suddenly woke up and flew towards the Poliwag.

"Supersonic!" Shane ordered - he had looked up Zuba's attacks so he would't repeat the Mt. Moon incident.

Shane covered his ears – Zubat blasted a high-pitched sound wave at the Poliwag, who became instantly confused, going cross-eyed and starting to stumble around like a drunkard. Poliwag tried to spit water at Zuba, but accidentally fired its water gun in the opposite direction. Then, it fell down, and Shane threw an empty Poké Ball at it.

Poliwag was sucked into the ball, and unlike in Zuba's case, the Poké Ball didn't even wiggle around on the ground, but the red light in the center was turned off instantly.

Shane picked up the Poliwag's Poké Ball and looked at it affectionately. "You shall be called…" Shane paused for a second. "Swirly!" He attached the Poké Ball on his belt and turned to look at Zuba. "Y'know, because of the swirl on its belly?"

Zuba just stared at him – or so Shane assumed.

"Shut up, it's a good name!" Shane snapped and returned Zuba. "Anyway, good job with that capture!"

Shane then looked down at Shrew, which was still shivering next to his feet. It knew the danger was over, but was afraid Shane would yell at it.

"And thanks to you too, Shrew," Shane said and smiled at the Pokémon. "I couldn't have done it without that lure!"

Shrew stopped shaking, slowly turned to look up at Shane and squealed in absolute happiness.

"Now go take it back to that fisher dude!" Shane said and gave the lure to the Sandshrew.

Shrew didn't look so happy anymore – the fisherman was big, hairy and had a lot of water-types with him.

_Captain's Log, Day 10: "After escaping the wrath of some no-neck fisherman whose arms were about as thick as my torso, I started looking for the nearest Pokémon Center where my motley crew could crash in. I searched for hours, but to no avail – even though a sign in Cerulean said that there was a Center here! So, I eventually set up camp, and when I woke up this morning… I realized I was sleeping right next to its back door – a Chansey taking out some trash had woken me up. Man, I must be a great explorer – finding things even without looking!_"

It was morning, and Shane, Shrew, Zuba and Swirly had taken over a table at Route 10's Pokémon Center, eating Pokémon food loudly and messily. Some passing trainers looked in disgust, others wondered about the human fighting for a scrap of Pokéfood with a Poliwag, and some little boy even tried scanning Shane with his PokéDex.

Unfortunately, one of the passing trainers knew Shane. The trainer noticed him, waved and approached his table – wearing stained overalls and having a strange, duck-like Pokémon sitting on his shoulder, the guy invited himself to sit next to Shane.

"Shane! Hi!" he greeted.

"Oh," Shane said and burped as politely as he could. "Hello, Tommy."

"Timmy," the bird keeper corrected. "You left Pewter City in such a hurry, man! But I suppose you've been busy," he added, looking around the table as Shrew, Zuba and Swirly continued eating, ignoring Timmy.

Shane nodded. "So, don't you have anywhere else to-"

"Oh, I've been great!" Timmy said cheerfully, answering to Shane's nonexistent question. "Been to Cerulean and Vermilion already! This is Farfetch'd, by the way!" Timmy added, pointing at the onion-carrying bird on his shoulder even though Shane hadn't asked about it, either. "I traded my Spearow for it in Vermilion. Cool, isn't it?"

"You traded your starter Pokémon away?" Shane asked and frowned. Shrew stopped eating and stared at Timmy too.

"Well, yeah," Timmy said, still smiling, oblivious to him being unwanted there. "What, is there some rule saying I can't?" he asked and laughed, hitting Shane on the back. "Don't go all sentimental on me, Shane, what are ya, a woman or something? No wonder the previous three Kanto champs have been men!"

Timmy laughed even louder, and the people who had previously stared at Shane in disgust were now avoiding the table altogether.

"Yeah, well, it's cool we talked," Shane lied and waved at his Pokémon to stop eating, "but I've got some place less misogynistic to be in, and-"

"Still looking for Zapdos, by the way?" Timmy asked like he hadn't even heard Shane. "Good luck, with that, dude! I wanted to check it out, too, but I haven't got any water-types! That Power Plant is such a tease! You can see its roof from here, but you just can't quite get there!"

"Yeah, that's great…" Shane said, then paused and turned to Timmy, grabbing the suspenders on his overalls. "What was that?" he asked and shook Timmy a bit. "The Power Plant? Here?"

"Hey, calm down, Shane," Timmy said and slapped Shane's hands away. "Keep your hands to yourself, I don't swing that way. And yeah, the Power Plant is just on the other side of the river! There are some trees in the way, but you can easily see the roof of the plant from-"

But before Timmy could finish, Shane ran out of the Pokémon Center, his Pokémon following behind, although Poliwag had a hard time running with its stubby legs. Shane stopped on the riverbank; the roof of a tall building could easily be spotted, its chimneys visible above the treetops. Shane slapped his forehead – he was so focused on catching the Poliwag he had forgotten the instructions of that blonde guy in Vermilion.

The river was sort of C-shaped from where Shane was standing, curving around the Power Plant until the trees hid it from sight. Shane decided to follow it downstream, but his only mode of transportation was Swirly. Usually, trainers could sit on the backs of their water Pokémon and use them for transport, but there was no way his Poliwag could support even his weight. So, he had to improvise.

With Shrew afraid of water, Shane had to return it to its ball. Swirly jumped into the river, and as clumsy as it was on land, it didn't even have to fight against the current on water. Shane's plan was to be on his belly on top of Swirly while Zuba would grab his shirt with its teeth to evenly distribute his weight. It was a technique he saw on the show "_Dumbasses Get Themselves Hurt For Our Entertainment_", and yet somehow, it worked.

People watching from the riverbank laughed at the odd formation: Swirly swimming, Shane teetering on top of it and Zubat flying blindly with Shane's shirt in its mouth, being dragged along by Swirly.

After a short swim, the group stepped out of the water, and Shane recalled Zuba and Swirly, then sent out Shrew.

"Here we are, Shrew!" he said and approached the building they had appeared in front of.

The Power Plant was surrounded by trees and lots of tall grass, as it hadn't been maintained in years. On the outside, the building didn't seem terribly dilapidated. The automatic doors were stuck in a half-open position, though, and many of the windows were shattered. But still, there was something haunting about it. It was very quiet there, the only sounds being the flow of the river and the occasional singing of a bird Pokémon.

"Okay, Shrew," Shane gulped as he stared at the Power Plant. "Um, you first…"

Shrew squeaked sadly, but nonetheless took a few steps towards the plant, only to be so frightened by something that it curled into a ball again.

Something weird and mechanical-looking floated in front of Shrew from the tall grass. The Pokémon had no arms or legs, nor ears or even a mouth. Its head was a gray sphere with one huge eye in the middle. It had large horseshoe magnets on both sides of its head, as well as two screws attached to the bottom of his head and one sticking from the top like an antenna.

"Holy Distortion World," Shane mumbled. "Is that Zapdos?"

Shrew, having gotten over its shock, made an annoyed squeak, but Shane failed to notice that. The electronic Pokémon decided to announce its own name:

"_Magne-mite_!"

Its voice was tinny and robotic, and seemed to come from within the Pokémon. Shane's eyes widened.

"Oh sh – it's a Magnemite!" Shane said and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I _guess_ Zapdos was supposed to be a bird… and a tad bigger… still, one shouldn't waste this opportunity! I sure could use an Electric-type… Shrew, Slash!"

Shrew nodded and charged at the Magnemite, slashing its body with its sharp claws – and wailed in pain as one of its claws broke. The Magnemite just floated there, not giving a damn.

"So Magnemite's an Electric- _and_ Steel-type now…" Shane said. "I gotta write this down! Okay, Shrew, uh… Dig!"

In a blink of an eye, Shrew had already burrowed into the ground. The Magnemite started turning around frantically, the antenna screw on top of its head spinning rapidly. Before Magnemite noticed anything, Shrew appeared from the ground and struck the Magnemite with a full-body tackle, knocking it out. Shane threw a Poké Ball at it, and just like in Swirly's case, the Magnemite was caught instantly.

"Right on!" Shane yelled and tried to high-five Shrew, failing due to the considerable size difference. He then picked up Magnemite's Poké Ball and attached it to his belt, next to Swirly. "I think I will call this one… Droid!"

Shrew looked at Shane curiously, leading Shane to explain: "Hey, it's a good name, and we won't get sued. Note that I didn't say Droid®, I just said 'Droid'. Totally different. Let's go!"

_**Location: Power Plant, Kanto**_

Inside, the Power Plant was in a much bigger state of disrepair. Though the lights were out, a little sunlight poured in through the dirty windows. Machinery was spread around, mostly broken, but some of them had little blinking red lights on them. Shane and Shrew walked deeper into the plant in silence, afraid to touch anything. Shane kept hearing strange ringing in his head, and the further they walked, the louder it got. Occasionally, Shane could hear sparks of electricity or cries of Pokémon he couldn't identify, but it soon became hard to pick apart sounds as the ringing in his ears got louder and his head started to ache.

Arriving in the Power Plant, Shane and Shrew initially just walked through dark, murky corridors, the doors to all the offices and other rooms locked tight. But eventually, they made it into the generator room, which ran through the length of the plant and was as tall as the building itself – water was dripping from small cracks in the ceiling, the insulation having apparently failed a while ago.

Shane looked around him. He couldn't see far due to insufficient lighting, but still kept a close eye for anything related to Zapdos – the generator room was the only place a Pokémon that big could hide in.

"Okay, Shrew," Shane whispered and turned to look at his Pokémon. "You need to-"

But Shane couldn't get any words out, as he screamed and held his head – the pain became unbearable, and the ringing drowned out all other noises. Shane closed his eyes and grabbed his head – he couldn't even hear his own screaming. As he collapsed on his knees, then fell on his back, he failed to notice that every hair on his body had stood up and that Shrew was desperately scratching him, trying to get him on his feet again.

Though Shane didn't hear it, he felt some machinery nearby exploding, knocking him unconscious. Before he passed out, the last thing he saw was a bolt of lightning on the far end of the room… it tore a hole through the ceiling, and in its light, Shane could see something huge spreading its wings and flying away…

...

...

"_Shane… wake up…_"

…

…

"…_hear me? … get up… all right?_"

…

"_SHANE!_"

When Shane finally opened his eyes, both the headache and the ringing were gone. He had to blink a few times to get adjust himself to the sunlight – he was back next to the Pokémon Center, and a familiar brunette was on her knees next to him, along with Shrew, Zuba, Swirly and even his new Magnemite, Droid. Shrew practically threw itself on Shane's chest when he woke up, squeaking in relief.

Shane could only mumble something incoherent: "Umm…"

"Took you long enough," Leaf smiled and stood up, helping Shane on his feet too. "Your Pokémon dragged you out of the Power Plant and called for help… you're lucky I was in the Pokémon Center. The moment I saw a Zubat with a chipped tooth flying in, I realized something was wrong."

"Uh…"

"I was on my way to the Rock Tunnel," Leaf explained. "This, uh… guy… his name is Timmy… he sort of keeps following me around… he's not that dangerous or anything but I really don't want to see him…"

"I, uh…"

"Don't thank me, thank your Pokémon!" Leaf said sincerely, then turned around and headed towards the Rock Tunnel's entrance. "Well, see you 'round, Shane! Let's hope I don't have to drag your unconscious body around for a third time! Bye!"

"Uhm…" Shane shook his head and ran after Leaf. "Wait!"

Leaf stopped and stared at Shane. "Yes?"

"What were you really doing here?" Shane asked quickly. "What happened with those Team Rocket guys back at Mt. Moon?"

Leaf sighed. Hands on her hips, she looked at Shane for a while, as if she was evaluating him.

"I think they're after me," Leaf said finally. "Team Rocket, I mean. Look, this might take a while… c'mon!"

Shane took a moment to individually thank each of his Pokémon, promising to pay them back later. He returned them to their balls and followed Leaf further towards the Rock Tunnel, away from the busy Pokémon Center. Leaf sat on a rock right next to the cave entrance, and Shane sat next to him, watching Leaf curiously.

"You know who Red is, don't you?" Leaf asked Shane.

"Well, I don't watch the news," Shane said. "Only the weather reports, and even they're a bit too complicated… I mean, all that talk about ocean currents and low-pressure and stuff… hard! I mean, how do I-" Shane paused when Leaf was glaring at him icily. "Uh, but, yeah, I know who he is. Became the champion three years ago, but a few months later he quit for some reason…"

"Yeah, and he wasn't just a champion," Leaf said, sounding less serious and more like she was imagining something wonderful. "He saved Kanto from Team Rocket… he fought a Moltres and won… and he is pretty dreamy," Leaf added, then cleared her throat and started to nervously fiddle with her shoulder bag. "Uh, not that we ever… I mean, I was, um, _involved_, with someone else at the time… and I think he was too! He just, has this effect on you, y'know. I only met him once, but…"

Leaf coughed.

"Anyway," she continued, "after Team Rocket fell and he became the champion, he started investigating something far bigger. I think he got his fingers burned, though… he had to escape, along with a group of people he had assembled. He had a flash drive with him, and whatever information was stored in there… someone wanted to kill him for it. He quit his job as the champion and Lance got promoted in his place-"

Shane started listening Leaf much more intently when Lance was mentioned.

"-and then he went underground. A little after that, he disappeared without a trace, and his friends feared the worst." Leaf fell silent for a while. "At the time," she said, starting to sound more bitter as she spoke, "I was working at the Pewter Museum. My best… well, my _only_ friend at the time, Julia, had gotten me the job, and without her, I probably wouldn't have started my career as a Pokémon researcher… short-lived as it was. It took me a while to realize that she was with Red's group."

"A while back, she was starting to miss work very often. Whenever I saw her, she looked like she had lost weight and hadn't slept well. She lost interest in our research project, and then…"

Leaf looked at Shane.

"You, uh… have you heard about that triple murder on Route 224 two weeks back?" she asked, then looked away and shook her head. "Oh, right, you don't watch the news. They said a Suicune did it, but I wonder…"

Shane had no idea what a Suicune was, but kept listening.

"The night before that, as I was going home from work, I bumped into Julia and two of her friends, also from Red's group. The other one was this girl from Saffron City everyone called 'Copycat' – although I mistook her for Red at first. I guess he had made quite an impression on her, since she was wearing his clothes and everything. The other one was this guy from Hoenn called… Emerald, was it? Well, Copycat didn't say anything as she was kinda shy, while Emerald… it was impossible to make him _stop_ taking."

"They were going to Sinnoh," Leaf said, suddenly sounding like she had a cold, and Shane started to slowly realize something. "They had a… project, there, something about talking to Pokémon. Julia asked me to join, told me all about Red. I had seen the two talking before and she even introduced him to me that time, but I didn't know what they were planning. But when she told me the trip would take a week and could potentially reveal something terrible about the very people in charge of us… well, I told her my own research came first, that she should stop associating with Red's 'people' and come back to work… we both said some… no, _I_ said some nasty things to her… and they left to Sinnoh. The morning after that, Julia was nowhere to be seen, and the morning after _that_… I found out she was…"

Leaf turned away from Shane while Shane rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. He mumbled something along the lines of 'I'm sorry', but Leaf didn't hear it. Either way, Leaf wiped her face to her hands and turned to look at Shane again, quickly regaining her composure.

"So," she said and sniffed, "with Julia gone, our project at the lab was terminated. I was just an intern at the time, so the lab was quick to get rid of me. Stuff just kept piling up on me, and then I realized… I couldn't care less about my work at that dingy old museum!"

Shane recoiled in shock when Leaf suddenly raised her voice.

"I swore to myself," Leaf said, now with much more confidence than before, "that I'd get to the bottom of this. I left Pewter City and did some digging… not only did I find out that Team Rocket were back, but that they were somehow connected to all this. I don't know who Red had in his group or where they are now, so I'll just have to work alone. I stopped Team Rocket from getting the Moon Stone," she paused and took the chunk of rock from her bag, "and now I'm going to find out why they needed it and what else are they after!"

"That's uh… okay!" Shane said and laughed nervously and unconvincingly. "Back at Mt. Moon, though, you said that, uh… if I knew this info, I'd be in danger…"

"Well, probably not," Leaf said, though less confidently this time. "They're back, but they're pretty unorganized. That Miguel guy we saw is just a freelancer – I bet I'd get him off my back if I just paid him enough money. But I believe the Rockets are answering to someone else…"

"What about their old boss guy?" Shane asked in a much more high-pitched voice than normally. "Geppetto or something…"

"Giovanni hasn't been seen in three years," Leaf said, "and this isn't exactly his style."

Leaf looked at the sun and stood up.

"If I go now, I'll be in Lavender Town before it gets dark," she muttered, then turned to look at Shane. "Thanks for listening to me. You take care now!"

And Leaf started to walk away again, leaving Shane sitting alone on the rock, horrified to paralysis. Just as Leaf was about to step into the Rock Tunnel, Shane ran after her.

"Wait!" he yelled and stepped in front of Leaf, blocking the tunnel's entrance. "Just hear me out, okay? What if I, uh, tagged along? It has nothing to do with me being afraid-"

Leaf raised her eyebrows at that.

"Okay, it has _everything_ to do with me being afraid," Shane admitted, babbling rapidly, "but I think we _both_ should be safer if we go… wherever you're going… together. Right? I can be useful in many things, like… uh, I can fish! We'll never go hungry or anything… and I have binoculars, which you can use to… look at… things… and stuff…"

"Shane!" Leaf interrupted, and Shane was silenced. "It's okay. I'm going to Celadon City, and it should be a three-day trip… you should be safe there!"

Shane still didn't look too sure.

"I know Team Rocket basically used to live there," Leaf said calmly, "but was three years ago, during Giovanni's time! And he's not around anymore."

"Okay," Shane sighed and took a deep breath as they both stepped into the Rock Tunnel. Leaf lit a flashlight, staying quiet as she walked. Shane followed her, and while he tried to think about what Leaf had told him, his mind was sort of preoccupied with other stuff. Like the fact that he had just seen a Zapdos! _Awesomeee_~.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Somewhere beneath Cerulean City, Kanto**_

Three years earlier, when Team Rocket was at the height of their power, they had underground bases all over Kanto and the Sevii Islands. After Giovanni's downfall, the police, the Elite Four and most of the gym leaders helped raiding those bases, destroying most of them and arresting dozens of Rocket Grunts and Admins.

But at least one still remained: an old, underground bunker in Cerulean City which only a few knew about, having possibly been built before the city itself.

Miguel was currently in the bunker. It was almost completely dark, his only source light being his cigarette lighter. Miguel walked around the place, expecting someone to arrive as was promised.

"Hel-looo?" Miguel called with a voice that sounded like he ate gravel and cigarettes for breakfast every day. "Anybody here? Where is this idiot…?"

"Manners, Miguel," a voice boomed from the darkness

Miguel almost dropped his lighter as he turned towards the direction of the voice. He shuddered when he saw the man approaching him from the shadows: a huge man, almost seven feet tall, wearing a snappy black suit with a rose attached to his chest, along with a fedora hat that almost covered his pale, ghoulish face. When the man took off his hat, Miguel noticed he had a slick, black hair and a face that looked unnatural, as if it had experienced one plastic surgery too many.

"G-Giovanni?" Miguel stuttered. "But I thought you… I mean, you…"

"What's the matter, Miguel?" the man asked, approaching Miguel casually with is hands in his pockets. "I thought you said you were a fan of me?"

Miguel seemed to have lost his voice as he backed away from the ma. However, the man's voice quickly changed to a higher pitched one, and as he removed his mask, he revealed a completely different face: a long, thin one, with purple hair, thick purple eyebrows and a purple goatee. He ripped off his suit with one slick move, revealing a normal Team Rocket uniform underneath. As he took off his elevator shoes and replaced them with white boots and put on a pair of white gloves, he was also revealed to be much skinnier and shorter.

"Mr. Petrel," Miguel said, sighing in relief and holding his chest. "I thought that-"

"Nah, not this time," Petrel said and smiled smugly. "Fancy disguise, wasn't it, though? But either way, I'm in command now, and you better remember it!"

"Sure," Miguel replied casually.

Petrel turned on the lights and Miguel sat down nonchalantly, his earlier mix of fear and awe gone instantly. Petrel kept walking around in the small bunker that only had one bed, a table and a few chairs around it.

"This place is so dusty," Petrel whined as he looked around. "I hope the fellas are already done at Celadon… I can't wait to move there! Ever been to Celadon, Miguel? That place smells divine, and they have these _faaab-ulous_ perfume shops, and the Game Corner, I tell ya, best place in Kanto to relax after… oh, but I almost forgot! Found the girl?"

"Yup," Miguel replied, relaxed in his chair and stretched his feet on the table. "The transmitter isn't working anymore, but our guy at the Route 10 Pokémon Center knows why – she entered the Rock Tunnel."

"And the moon stone?" Petrel asked.

Suddenly, Miguel didn't seem so relaxed anymore. "Well, um, after what happened at Mt. Moon, our guy didn't think it'd be too smart to just jump her, so, I… I guess she still has it."

Petrel frowned and tapped his lips with his finger, deep in his thoughts. Miguel yawned and checked the time from is PokéGear, wanting to get paid and get out. When Petrel didn't acknowledge him for a while, Miguel coughed.

Petrel turned to look at him. "What?"

"Well, if you'll give my money, I'll be on my way…"

"After that _travesty _that was Mt. Moon?" Petrel asked and let out a loud fake laugh. "Ha! Now, don't you bother your lice-infested head with this, okay? Team Rocket will take care of them. _You_, on the other hand… stay put until we enter the next phase of our plan."

Miguel opened his mouth in protest, but Petrel interrupted him:

"Do it, or not getting paid will be the least of your problems," Petrel said slyly, then patted Miguel on the shoulder. "Now, off you go, lay low in Cerulean and wait for our call. And don't worry about the money – we have use for someone with your skills."

Grumbling to himself, Miguel took his feet off the table, got up and walked to the ladder than led out of the bunker. Before he left, Petrel had one more thing to tell him:

"And Miguel," he said, "you know who I work for…

Miguel nodded nervously before leaving.

* * *

**Next up, chapter five**, "Double Trouble"**, where Team Rocket causes more problems**. **Please, anyone who's reading, feel free to drop a review. Of course, even if got zero reviews, I wouldn't stop writing, but anything that migth help me improve this is a bonus! Big thanks to _Lunary Canary_ for her neverending support!**


	5. Double Trouble

**CHAPTER FIVE: **_**DOUBLE TROUBLE**_

_**Location: Route 8, Kanto**_

_Shane's log, Day 12: "So, okay, I… thing is, I don't think I'll be writing about my heroic exploits today. In fact, after this entry, I may not be writing this journal at all! For you see, I am a marked man! No matter what Leaf says, I know Team Rocket to be hyper-competent, super-scary and not all stupidly named. Y'know, just in case you're reading this, Giuseppe! I really dig the uniforms on you guys! Before I surrender myself to your mercy, I_-"

"Shane, stop writing for a second," yelled Leaf from a distance, "and come look at this!"

Ever since the two had entered the Rock Tunnel, Shane had constantly followed Leaf around, and whenever someone remotely suspicious walked by, Shane usually hid himself behind Leaf's back. Leaf tried to act patiently, but kept grinding her teeth and clicking her tongue quite often. In Lavender Town, Shane hid under a bed at the Pokémon Center while Leaf ran some errands in the town, only returning when it was dark. Since Shane had become too jumpy to travel while it was dark, the duo had to spend another night at Lavender's Pokémon Center.

Even after that, Shane would have preferred staying in the quiet, friendly mountain town… but then a kid at the street asked Shane if he believed in ghosts and talked about a white hand on his shoulder, which forced Shane to do some laundry before getting away from Lavender Town as fast as possible.

Currently, the two were walking along route 8, climbing up a grassy, flower-filled hill. Leaf had run on top of the hill and was now impatiently waiting for Shane to reach her. When he did, he was too out of breath to say anything, but Leaf just pointed into the distance in excitement.

"We made it, Shane," she cheered. "Celadon City!"

Shane looked where Leaf was pointing. On the foot of the hill was a small path leading to Celadon's main street. Celadon City was big, way bigger than anywhere else Shane had been – there were no roads for cars, just plenty of cobbled walkways, clean, modern-looking houses and an endless amount of shops. Small parks and fountains were abundant, spread in almost every corner. The streets were full of people – a relief to Shane, as there was no way even Team Rocket would be able to catch him from those crowds.

_**Location: Celadon City, Kanto**_

Upon arriving to the city, Shane couldn't help but to forget all about Team Rocket. Leaf eventually had to drag him away from all the shops, as Shane had to stop at every window to stare at their stuff: multiple-colored Poké Balls, delicacies from foreign regions like Lava Cookies and Old Gateau, tons of fancy Coordinator-related stuff like ribbons, seals and Pokémon accessories which made Shane almost squeal in delight, before he cleared his throat and insisted that they looked something more "manly". At a newsstand, Leaf bought a 'PokéWorld Daily' while Shane bored the newsvendor with his tales about his encounter with Zapdos, which Shane was "43% sure" about.

"Nothing about Team Rocket today," Leaf mumbled as she read the paper. "Hmm… '_Power Plant reopened: the abandoned Power Plant on Route 10 may be reopened to solve the energy issues surrounding the newly built Magnet Train. Authorities thank 'an anonymous idiot' for driving all the electric-type Pokémon away from the plant_.'"

"Yeah, that's amazing," said Shane, who was barely listening and was now staring at a building just across the street from the newsstand. "Hey, what's that?"

Leaf turned to look at what Shane was staring: a two-story building that easily stood out thanks to the abundance of neon signs and flashy TV screens on the walls and the roof. Crowds of people were swarming around the place, as well as into the much smaller building directly next to it.

"That's the Game Corner," Leaf explained, though she grimaced as she said it. "The place where all the sleazebags hang out…"

"Ooh, let's go in!" Shane said and clapped his hands. "I've heard of that place! During my dad's unexpected two-week trip to Celadon City, he told me that-"

"Come to think of it," Leaf interrupted, "I _do_ have some errands to take care of here, too. I'm meeting someone who may be able to take care of the Moon Stone for me. She lives in the southwest part of town, though, so I'll be gone for a while, but you can stay there, and uh… wait for me."

"Cool! And… wait a sec…" Shane paused and stopped to think – one could almost hear his brain working at full capacity to remember something. After a brief silence, he seemed to figure it out, as he had a look of horror on his face: "Hey… wasn't the Game Corner the base of operations for Team Rocket back in the day? What if they're there, ready or me... it would be no surprise, after the thousands of Rocket Grunts I fought…"

"Don't worry, Shane," Leaf said calmly as Shane started wringing his hands in panic. "Like I have said numerous times already, that was three years ago. You really think they'd be stupid enough to try that again in the exact same place as last time?"

When Shane couldn't think of anything to say in protest, Leaf dragged him to the Game Corner and left, promising to return as soon as she could. At the Game Corner's door, Shane opened Shrew's Poké Ball and forced the little Sandshrew to enter the building first.

Inside, Shane calmed down a bit and instead got excited by the sudden burst of loud techno music coming from the speakers. The place was full of people, tourists and Celadon-ites alike, and no one noticed Shane's entrance. Slot machines were spread around the place like shelves in a department store, creating long aisles where people kept bumping into each other, spilling drinks and dropping coins. In some corners, there were also games like card flip and roulette, those tables surrounded by people in fancy suits smoking cigars. There were no human croupiers: just several Mr. Mime in red suits serving drinks and hosting the games. The only human employees seemed to be the people exchanging money for coins.

"You know, I've never tasted a martini before!" Shane yelled at Shrew over the music. "Let's head to the bar! We'll get you an Oran Berry Juice!"

Shrew squealed in agreement. Shane picked his Sandshrew up so it wouldn't get trampled by the busy gamblers, then walked to the bar counter. Behind the counter were two Mr. Mime, this time in black suits, serving to only two customers. The other one was a drunken man who smelled like he didn't even know what a shower looked like and the other one was a brown-haired man wearing a purple suit and a white cape, explaining something to two bored-looking women leaning on the counter. When Shane got to the bar, the women rolled their eyes and left, causing the purple-suited man to yell: "Hey, it's your loss!"

"One Berry Juice for my Sandshrew," Shane said to the Mr. Mime behind the counter, letting Shrew sit on a bar stool. "And for me, uh… give me an alcoholic beverage! Yes, that's right, I drink them often."

"Hey, kid!" the purple-suited guy yelled, even though he was right next to Shane and the drum'n'bass music had quieted down a bit. "Are you old enough to drink here?"

"Why does everyone always ask that?" Shane asked resentfully. "I'm legal and everything! Mind your own business!"

But the Mr. Mime, unconvinced, poured Oran Berry Juice in two glasses and gave them to Shrew and Shane. Shane hadn't noticed anything, and gave the Mr. Mime some money. As he took a sip from his drink, the purple-suited man stared at him, silently judging.

"Do you know who I am?" he finally asked.

Shane stared back. "Uh… the stage magician?" he suggested. "Hey, do you know that trick where you put a Buneary in your hat and then you pull it out of your-"

"Sleeve!" the purple-suited man interrupted hastily. "And no, young philistine, for I am Eusine! Applause!"

No one applauded or even reacted to Eusine's shouting, except for the drunken man on the end of the counter. "Go back to Orre, hick!"

"For your information, oh aromatic one," Eusine said at the drunkard, "I was born and raised in Celadon City. My family used to live in the Celadon Mansion, but after tragically perishing in a hunting accent at the Safari Zone, they left me the whole lot! I sold the mansion to get even more, and now I roam the Pokémon world, in search of-"

Someone threw a cherry at Eusine to shut him up: "I can't hear my gambling here!"

"No, sorry, I haven't heard of you," Shane said and took another sip of his Berry Juice, then grimaced. "Wow! That went right into my head!"

"Don't you watch the news, blondie?" Eusine asked, reached for his pocket, and, as slowly and flashily as possible, took out a black badge with the letters 'LPS' written on it with big yellow letters. "For you see, I am a member of-"

"The Legendary Pokémon Society!" Shane yelled enthusiastically, recognizing the badge.

Eusine nodded and smiled smugly before putting the badge back. "Oh, so you do know me?" he asked.

"Well, not really," Shane said and Eusine's smile faded, "but I'd really love to join you guys! Hey, I have a question," Shane said, staring at Eusine's strange clothes. "Does everyone in your group wear capes?"

"Nah, just the cool ones," Eusine said and tapped the counter with his knuckles – the Mr. Mime gave Eusine another drink, though Shane noticed that he still had two full glasses in front of him.

"It's so weird, bumping into you guys all the time," Shane said eagerly, unaware that his Berry Juice was spilling on his pant. "I mean, first I run into Lance, now you!"

"Lance?" Eusine asked and frowned, then shrugged. "Well, we usually work in pairs, although they make me work solo. They must know how great I am, sending me alone on a dangerous mission like this. You see…"

Eusine pulled something else from his pocket: a picture of an elegant, blue Pokémon with a gorgeous, purple mane and two long, white tails. Entranced, Shane reached for the picture, but Eusine quickly pulled it away from him.

"Do you know what Pokémon this is?" Eusine asked, holding the picture close enough for Shane to see it, but far enough so he couldn't snatch it.

"No," Shane admitted, still staring at it, "but for some reason, I _really_ want to find out…"

"You don't?" Eusine asked in shock. "Why, there's a monumental gap in your education!"

"No, that's just my mouth," Shane said while Shrew tapped the counter just like Eusine. It had already finished its own and Shane's Berry Juice, and squeaked in joy as the Mr. Mime gave it a third one.

"This is…" Eusine said, paused for dramatic effect and yelled: "Suicune!" He stared at the picture and sighed wistfully. "One day, I will come face to face with this beauty of a legendary Pokémon. Its grace, elegance and glow have no match!"

"I dunno, my Sandshrew is pretty suave when it wants to be," Shane said, jerking his thumb at Shrew, who was drinking its fourth Berry Juice with so much enthusiasm that it spilled half of it on its belly. "Hey, wait a minute," Shane said and snapped his fingers in realization. "Didn't that thing kill three people back in wherever?"

"Psh! Just anti-Pokémon propaganda!" Eusine scoffed. "The Legendary Pokémon Society knows the truth!"

"Speaking of which," Shane cut in, "can I join your group? I'm really a big fan of legendaries. Like, you know Zapdos? Well, I kinda-sorta came very close to almost quite seeing it! That has to count, right?"

"What was your name again?" Eusine asked suspiciously.

"It's Sha… well, _Captain_ Shane Stephens!" Shane proclaimed.

"Well, Crane," Eusine said. "Being in the Legendary Pokémon Society implies that you're worth something. Tell me, what do the toothless yokels sing about in your hometown? What acts of bravery have you accomplished during _your_ years of roaming the Earth?"

"Days, actually," Shane said. "And I've done quite a lot, actually," he added with pride. "Like, back at Mt. Moon, I stopped Team Rocket from getting their hands on… well, whatever it was, it was definitely hands-off stuff! There were ten thousand Rocket Grunts against me, a toothless Zubat and a half-conscious Sandshrew – oh, yeah, and some chick was there too. So, in order to make it a fair fight, I let Team Rocket summon a couple of thousand more grunts! So, just as I pulled the sword from stone, I-"

He was interrupted when something tapped him on the shoulder. Shane turned around and had to suppress a gasp when he saw a Machoke in a black suit glaring at him, cracking its knuckles.

"Hey, I'm old enough to drink here!" Shane protested. "Now, if you don't mind, I was relating tales of courage to this fruitcake here! Scram! But before that," Shane paused and gave his empty glass at the Machoke. "Care to bring me a glass of water? 'Cuz that drink sort of made my eyes water, and my throat burns a bit. Thanks!"

Shane's throat burned even more when the Machoke grabbed him by the throat with one hand and started dragging him away. Shane was quick to grab Shrew with him, stopping it from finishing its sixth Berry Juice. Eusine just stared after him in confusion.

"Pick up my tab!" Shane wheezed at Eusine as the Machoke dragged him away from the crowd. "And tell your bosses about me! And tell Lance I said hi!"

No one seemed to care when the Machoke dragged Shane and Shrew past the exchange counter, past the bathrooms and towards the offices. Shane was expecting to be taken to the manager's office and quickly started explaining himself, though he didn't get many words out as Machoke had almost crushed his windpipe.

"Okay, you got me," Shane croaked, trying to claw Machoke's hand away from his throat. "I'm not 21! But my parents have a lot of money… and besides, I'm over 18! I could work my tab as a dancer or something! Just let go of me so I can show you my cool moves! Or I could be a cook! I know how to boil water!"

But the Machoke stopped before entering the manager's office. Instead, it turned to face a poster advertising the latest game added to the Game Corner: the Voltorb Flip – "Like Minesweeper but more annoying!" Machoke slid one of its big fingers behind the poster and pressed something on the wall.

Suddenly, a part of the wall just slid away, revealing a hidden staircase. Shane was about to voice a question, but Machoke held from his throat even tighter as it dragged Shane and Shrew to the basement, causing Shane to painfully bump into every stair.

When the Machoke finally let go of Shane and threw him and Shrew on the floor, Shane was free to rub his neck and look around him. The Game Corner's basement was brightly lit, with wooden boxes everywhere. Looking up, Shane realized he was surrounded by four Team Rocket Grunts, and very close to him was a luxurious mahogany desk. Behind the desk, a purple-haired man rubbed his goatee and smirked at him.

"Ah, finally," the man said, his voice oily and stretching. "I hope you are enjoying yourself here at our Game Corner. Weren't our barstools just the comfiest ever?"

Shane responded something that sounded like 'meep'.

"I am Petrel," the purple-haired man announced, "and I do not look kindly on people spreading stories about their encounters with us."

The Rocket Grunts around Shane nodded in approval, some cracking their knuckles at Shane and running their fingers across their throats while smiling maliciously.

"But, I am nothing but not diplomatic," Petrel said calmly, stood up and nodded at one of the grunts.

The grunt brought another chair into the room and placed it in front of Petrel's desk. Another grunt pulled Shane on his feet and forced him to sit on the desk so he could look directly at Petrel.

"So, care for a drink?" Petrel asked kindly.

"What?" Shane asked, his voice going to a higher register again. "Uh, no, thanks, I had enough already…"

Shrew squealed in agreement. It had crossed its legs and it was writhing on the ground, but no one seemed to notice its plight.

Petrel didn't seem to take no for an answer, and snapped his fingers. Soon enough, an Electabuzz wearing a suit just like the Machoke's came into the room, carrying a tray with two glasses of red wine on it. The Electabuzz served the drinks to Shane and Petrel, then stayed in the room to stand behind Shane, making him even more uncomfortable.

"I'm sure you've heard many horror stories about us over the years," Petrel said lightly and took a sip of wine. "You know... 'Team Rocket kills Marowak to sell black market skulls', 'Team Rocket takes over Saffron City, 'Team Rocket blows raspberries at old ladies', that kind of stuff… but that was the _old_ Team Rocket, under Giovanni who was all 'grr' and 'I shall murder you' all the time, which is really bad for business, am I right?"

Shane nodded nervously and gave a fake smile at Petrel before pretending to take a sip of wine.

"_Did I give you permission to drink_?" Petrel yelled suddenly, almost making Shane drop the glass, but Petrel just laughed. "Just joking, drink all you want. Now, I know you didn't ask to be in this position. Many of us hang in the wrong crowd. Like, if my parents hadn't been golf-buddies with Giovanni, I wouldn't have been forced to join or take over the gang after our boss' disappearance. Actually, I'd rather be a fashion designer."

"Oh, um… really?" Shane asked. Petrel didn't seem to hear.

"So, since we're all friends here," Petrel said, staring at Shane without even blinking, "I just need you to answer a few questions. First of all: where is the Moon Stone?"

"I don't know," Shane said sincerely, since he had already forgotten where Leaf had gone.

Petrel sighed and nodded at his Electabuzz. Before Shane could stop it, the Electabuzz placed its furry hand on Shane's shoulder and gave him an electric shock. Feeling like his arm was on fire, Shane yelled in pain and fell off the chair. The shock had left a black mark on Shane's shoulder, a piece of his shirt having burned right off.

"Just don't think of me as a fool," Petrel continued calmly. "I know _you_ don't have it. But where is your friend, Ms. Greene?"

"I really don't know!" Shane moaned, still on the floor. Shrew was right next to him, struggling to keep all that juice in. "Look, I don't even know her and would gladly tell you where she is to get out of here, but I _don't know_!"

Petrel glanced at the Rocket Grunts. They shrugged at him, so Petrel nodded at his Electabuzz, who pulled Shane up and pushed him back into the chair.

"All right," Petrel said and leaned closer to Shane. "In that case… where is The Project?"

"The what?" Shane wondered. "Look, I don't watch much gangster movies so I don't know the lingo too well… I do love westerns, though, like 'Gunslinger Scrafty' and-"

"Project Mewtwo!" Petrel shouted. "It was a secret project initiated by Giovanni, and I'm here to finish it! Your friend Leaf is somehow connected to it, and I wanna know how! We couldn't get anything out of _him_," Petrel added and nodded at his minions.

Two grunts left the room, and quickly returned dragging an old man with them. The man was tall, thin and bald, and while he was still alive, he seemed to be only semi-conscious, with bruises and cuts all over his body, a fresh wound on his lip still bleeding.

"Are you all right there, Mr. Fuji?" Petrel asked snidely.

Fuji could only mumble something in response. When the old man turned on his back and opened his mouth, Shane saw that many of his teeth were missing. The Rocket Grunts ignored his plight as they were all focused on Shane.

"So, unless you want to see your old friend meeting a very unpleasant fate," Petrel paused and Electabuzz's antennas lit up threateningly, "you better start talking. Deal?"

"I…" Shane was confused, frightened and desperately needed some kind of ointment on his shoulder. Shrew squealed in protest, but no one noticed it. Unable to keep the drinks in any longer, Shrew quickly ran out of the room.

One of the Rocket Grunts was about to run after it, but Petrel shook his head.

"Forget it," he said as he stared Shane relentlessly. "_You_! Tell us everything you know, and fast!"

"But I really don't know most of what I know. I mean…" Shane scratched his head and looked back and forth between Petrel and the badly battered Mr. Fuji, being even more clueless than usual. "I have never met that old guy in my life and I certainly don't know what your 'Project' is and those stories I told that Eusine guy at the bar were a _little_ exaggerated – probably my mind playing tricks on me. I _meant_ to say 'hundreds' of Rocket Grunts instead of 'thousands'..."

Shane paused to take a breath. Petrel continued to stare at him, but his smug sense of superiority was wearing off. Finally, he turned to look at one of the Grunts.

"Are you _sure_ this is the guy?" Petrel asked the minion.

"I, well, ah…" the Rocket Grunt rubbed the back his neck uncertainly. "Relatively sure?"

"You're fired," Petrel said coldly, then turned to his other henchmen. "The rest of you, get this guy out of my sight and start looking for Greene! She's here somewhere while we're wasting time with this grease stain here!"

"But sir, he was at Mt. Moon!" another Rocket Grunt protested. "Yeah, he didn't do anything, but he knows Greene!"

"All right," Petrel sighed and reluctantly started interrogating Shane again. "Are you in cahoots with Red, the famous trainer who disappeared after becoming Champion and was an avowed enemy of Team Rocket?"

"No!" Shane said firmly. "I don't even know what 'avowed' means!"

Petrel closed his eyes and started rubbing his forehead. "This guy is giving me a headache," he whined. "Machoke, Electabuzz, get him out of here. Throw him into the waste grinder behind the casino!"

Shane tried to protest, but could only utter a small wheezing sound as Machoke and Electabuzz both grabbed his arms. One of the Rocket Grunts uncertainly approached Petrel's desk.

"But sir, what about that Sandsrew?" he asked.

Petrel laughed. "Yeah, let's worry about that!" he mocked. "What do you think it's going to do, blow a hole through the ceiling?"

The Rockets' joy was short-lived, as all of the sudden, the ceiling above them cracked and a slot machine crashed into the basement, landing right in the middle of Petrel's desk, crushing it to splinters. Petrel shrieked girlishly as he backed away, while Electabuzz and Machoke let go of Shane, dropping him on the floor.

Everyone looked up, seeing Shrew, Leaf and a serene-looking dark-haired woman in a kimono looking down from the hole in the ceiling. Leaf sighed in relief to see Shane while Shrew jumped down and landed into Shane's arms, hugging him so tightly that its claws left deep cuts into Shane's back.

One of the Rocket Grunts hadn't been scared into shock like the others, prompting him to open a Poké Ball on his belt. A round, purple Pokémon with an ecstatic smile on its face came out of the ball, happily announcing its name: "_Kof-fiiing!_"

"Smokescreen!" the Grunt ordered.

Thick, dark green smoke poured from the holes around Koffing's body. It soon became impossible to see what was happening in the room, so Shane grabbed Shrew with his healthy arm and dragged it away with him, avoiding the chaos ensuing in the room. The floor shook a bit as something else dropped into the basement, people yelled orders at Pokémon and Electabuzz kept firing its electric attacks wildly around the room.

Finally, as the smoke cleared, Shane saw two unconscious Rocket Grunts and Rattata on the ground next to Leaf's Paras, while two other Rocket Grunts and the Koffing had been bound by a long, green serpent-like Pokémon with narrow red eyes and a smug expression on its face. Though the Pokémon was wrapped around the prisoners tightly, the Koffing was still smiling and its mouth was slightly open.

"Excellent, Serperior," the woman in the yellow kimono said in a tranquil way, then approached Shane. "Ah, Leaf told me about you. I'm Erika, leader of the Celadon Gym," she said as she helped Shane up. Erika's eyes looked like they were only half-open and the overpowering aroma of strange herbs seemed to surround her.

In the meantime, Leaf was supporting Mr. Fuji and helping him walk to the others. Shane noticed that Leaf must have nursed Fuji back to health – all of his injuries seemed to have vanished.

"Looks like Shrew saved you again," Leaf remarked as she put Fuji on the only chair that hadn't been broken. "It ran after me as I was going to meet Erika. Good thing I was able to call her for help and get here on time - looks like you were right about Team Rocket, Shane."

"They have been active in Celadon lately," Erika said calmly as she watched the two Rocket Grunts and the Koffing writhing in her Serperior's grip. "I caught one of them staring into my gym from the window – me and the girls were just trying on our new kimonos. He must have been really interested in fashion…"

Shane looked around him, expecting to see the unconscious Petrel somewhere, but the purple-haired guy was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he?" Shane asked out loud.

"Who?" Leaf wondered.

"The, uh… the guy, Petrel, Team Rocket's new boss," Shane mumbled. "Did he escape?"

"Ah, the one with the powerful lungs, you mean?" Erika said. "So he has taken over from Giovanni… he's easy enough to recognize, indeed, so he can't get far. I remember him well – he was just a grunt back in Giovanni's day, but he somehow managed to evade capture… speaking of which, I should take these to the police station…"

Erika's Serperior bound the unconscious Rocket Grunts and their Pokémon too, then followed Erika as she left the basement through the stairs. Leaf turned to look at Mr. Fuji, checking carefully for any cuts or bruises.

"I gave the Moon Stone to her," Leaf explained to Shane, who was trying to wrap his head around the things that just happened. "Oh, Shane, this is Mr. Fuji," Leaf said and nodded in the old man's direction. "Are you all right, sir?"

Fuji nodded weakly. Leaf smiled at him compassionately.

"He runs the Volunteer House in Lavender Town, looking after abandoned Pokémon," Leaf said. "Three years ago, Team Rocket killed a Marowak in the Pokémon Tower, and Fuji abandoned its orphaned daughter, the Cubone. Fuji went to confront Team Rocket, but was kidnapped by them instead. Red was the one to eventually put the Marowak's soul to rest and rescue Mr. Fuji, and they have been friends since. I was actually trying to find him back when we were in Lavender - that's why I was gone all day."

Shane suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. _Red, Red, Red… people talk about him like he's the inventor of sliced bread or something… why doesn't anyone focus on _my _heroic exploits?_

"Look, Leaf," Shane said as he still hadn't quite understood everything. "What's going on here? That Petrel guy kept asking me about some 'Project', and I don't know what you or Mr. Fuji or your hero Red have been doing here, but... I want in!"

"You sure?" Leaf asked and glanced at the second-degree burn on Shane's shoulder. "Even knowing that associating with us may cause you to end up in a waste grinder? Well, I'll explain in a minute… oh, Mr. Fuji, are you sure you're good to go?"

Fuji had stood up and was slowly making his way to the stairs. He nodded at Leaf, but didn't seem to be capable of speech. As he reached the stairs, he started running, moving very fast for an old man.

"Weird old coot," Shane muttered.

"Well he _is_ around ninety," Leaf said fairly. "Look, Shane, this is important for me, and I can't have you hanging around all the time. If you really want answers, head to Cinnabar Island and ask for Blaine, the gym leader. I'll tell him you're coming. He's not one to trust strangers, or anyone, that easily, but… I'll figure something out."

"Cinnabar Island…" Shane said and tried to remember his geography lessons, but eventually came to a conclusion that he hadn't attended any of them.

"Just follow the Cycling Road, a big bridge southwest from here," Leaf explained quickly. "You should be in Fuchsia City by tomorrow. In a few days, a ferry will probably take you to Cinnabar from there. You can crash at the Pokémon Center while you wait, okay?"

Shane was feverishly writing down Leaf's instructions, simple as they were.

"Bridge… Fuchsia… ferry… crash… wait… got it!"

"I'd recommend just continuing your Pokémon journey or whatever you're on, though," Leaf said sadly. "This is dangerous and there's no big cash reward waiting in the end. With any luck, the Rockets will think that you're just some random dumbass who happened to stumble in the way of their evil plan… not that they would have any reason to think so, of course," Leaf added quickly.

But Shane hadn't listened much. He returned Shrew, nodded absently at Leaf and left, going over Leaf's instructions in his head. If nothing else would work, then surely the Legendary Pokémon Society would eagerly accept the man who defeated Team Rocket into their ranks. His journey would be delayed a little, however; just as he was about to leave the Game Corner, he failed to notice the big hole in the floor where a slot machine once stood, and had to spend the remainder of the day in a Pokémon Center having his leg healed.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Route 16, outskirts of Celadon City**_

Mr. Fuji had run all the way from the Game Corner, finally stopping in front of his destination to catch his breath. He was in front of a small, abandoned cottage that was very close to the gatehouse leading to the Cycling Road. He had to take several deep breaths before stepping into the cabin, but not because he was out of breath. As he closed the door behind him, the darkness swallowed him instantly, as all of the windows were boarded shut.

Inside, the old man was finally free to take off his mask, ripping off his smelly sweater to reveal a Team Rocket uniform and removing his wrinkly mask, revealing a long, twisted face and purple hair, eyebrows and goatee. Even though it was just as warm outside as it always was in Kanto, the inside of the cabin was chilly, causing Petrel to shiver. His uniform, that he had personally designed, was designed to be flexible in battle, not for arctic operations.

As the cabin's flickering lights slowly turned on, Petrel saw that he was standing ankle-deep in snow and that the cabin's wooden furniture were all covered in a layer of frost. Petrel's teeth were clattering, but more because of fear than cold – it was here.

A deep, commanding voice from the shadows eventually snapped him to his senses: "Petrel. I recall forbidding you from coming here in broad daylight."

Petrel immediately kneeled down in front of the voice's source, his oily and arrogant voice shaking as he responded: "Yes, master, you remember correctly, as always. I was in disguise, and no one followed me. I have some… some unfortunate news…"

"The girl hasn't been captured?" the voice asked, and Petrel shuddered.

"C-correct," Petrel stuttered. "And our hideout underneath the Game Corner has been, um… compromised…"

"Of course," the voice said, more quietly than before, yet it still echoed all over the cabin. "Only you could have been arrogant enough to assume that no one would look there anymore. I should have known…"

"P-please forgive me, master," Petrel said and instinctively covered his face with his hands. "I… I tried to invoke reverse psychology… you know, everyone would think 'oh, Team Rocket wouldn't be stupid enough to use the same hideout twice' but, I, um… yeah…"

The voice didn't say anything this time, and Petrel desperately tried to improve his standing.

"But, I have good news too!" he whimpered. "The, uh, the Moon Stone… I know who has it now! The gym leader! If we attack her, and-"

"_Forget the Moon Stone!_" the voice ordered. "The Mask of Ice has something more important planned for you…"

"O-okay…"

The thing behind the voice approached Petrel from the shadows, and Petrel felt a cold win blowing around the cabin. The creature didn't seem human at all, its face covered by a decorative blue voodoo mask; its long, white hair was flowing around freely like a cloud and it had clothed itself with a long, black robe that also flowed around like smoke. Everywhere the Mask of Ice went, a cold breeze followed, and everything around it froze. Looking up at the Mask of Ice, who appeared to be over seven feet tall, Petrel seemed to be in an inner turmoil, wanting to run away but fearing what would happen if he did.

"I want you and all of your Rockets stationed in our hideout in Cerulean City," the Mask of Ice ordered. "Keep constant track of the girl as well as that geneticist. They will lead us straight to the Project."

"Yes, master, I will," Petrel mumbled, afraid to look directly at the Mask.

"And do not be afraid," the Mask continued.

Slowly, Petrel looked up and faced the decorative voodoo mask that it made look like the Mask of Ice was constantly smiling maliciously.

"Giratina will reward those who help it," the Mask said. "When our time comes and the Distortion World's armies walk the earth, _you_ can be the one leading them. Forget Ariana and Archer, forget even Giovanni… you're the one who matters now, Petrel. Now go!"

Petrel almost fell down as he hurried to obey his master. He bowed at the Mask quickly and ran out of the cabin without looking back.

* * *

**That's it for this chapter! I'd like to thank _Akane Nagamiya, Allie X 'I _and _Ardtonismyname_ for favoriting this story! You're too kind! I promise to keep my chapters shorter in the future. 'Brevity Is Wit', after all...  
**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter, **"Light My Fire**", where Shane meets the eccentric Blaine and hears the story behind Mewtwo**.


	6. Light My Fire

**CHAPTER SIX: **_**LIGHT MY FIRE**_

_**Location: Fuchsia City, Kanto**_

_Shane's log, Day 14: "Here in Fuchsia, the local people amuse each other by disguising as plants or rocks and jumping at people, almost giving them heart attacks. I briefly thought about being a ninja once, but there was a little mishap with a shruriken and… well, let's just say Ferguson isn't too happy whenever I bring up that missing toe of his…_"

"_Currently, I'm just waiting for the ferry to arrive, enjoying a day at the ice cream parlor with Shrew, writing this sentence. And this sentence. And this-_"

"Drop the pencil, boy!" a raspy voice ordered.

Calmly, Shane looked up from his diary and saw Miguel standing right next to his table, his Drowzee and Raticate by his side, the Raticate screeching at Shane. Miguel was now wearing an all-black burglar's uniform, looked like he hadn't shaved in a week and seemed to have gained a few pounds since Shane last saw him.

"You again?" Shane sighed. "Can't this wait 'till I've finished my ice cream?"

But as Miguel had distracted Shane, Shrew had jumped on the table and swallowed Shane's sundae whole.

"Ah, but things are different this time," Miguel smirked. "And you're going to pay for what you've done! You cost me my job!"

Miguel was about to yell orders at his Pokémon, but was interrupted when three Poké Balls on Shane's belt opened up on their own, sending out three Pokémon. Droid, Shane's Magnemite, had evolved into a Magneton while Swirly Shane's Poliwag, was now a Poliwhirl. Zuba, Shane's Zubat, hadn't evolved, but Shane had fixed its tooth at Fuchsia's Pokémon Center.

With Magneton's three eyes glaring at him and Poliwhirl shaking its fist at him, Miguel started looking less confrontational, and when he failed to come up with a good one-liner, he eventually just fled, Raticate and Drowzee in tow. Shane turned to face his sundae again, only to be disappointed when there was just an empty cup.

"Great," Shane groaned. "Why does the world conspire against me? Can't a man enjoy a relaxing ice cream break anymore? I blame society!"

_Shane's log, Day 15: "Yes, indeed, Droid and Swirly evolved when Miguel ambushed me at the Cycling Road. I feel kinda sorry for him, though. What with these new 'being a criminal is illegal' laws being made, it's hard for a freelance criminal to find a job. Dunno why Team Rocket stopped using him, but anyway, things were said, mainly about my supposedly poor hygiene, and I got upset and challenged him to a battle, and while Droid and Swirly were humiliating his Pokémon, they started evolving. At first I screamed in terror and thought that they had possessed by a poltergeist of some kind – but apparently quite many Pokémon evolve and change a bit. Gotta make a note of that. Droid is mostly the same, but Swirly has become… I don't know, a bit of a bully. It rarely uses water attacks anymore, just punches and kicks its opponents until they cry 'uncle'. And since Pokémon can't cry 'uncle', the battles tend to go on a bit too long_."

_Shane's log, Day 17: "Currently in a ferry, on my way to Cinnabar Island. I've been thinking – yes, honestly this time – about my adventure… or les voyage, as the French say. Particularly about that stuff what Leaf said, about ending into a waste grinder. While I can honestly say I don't want that… I just don't want to stop! I know those snobs at the Legendary Pokémon Society will invite me to their club if I do this! I just know it!_"

_**Location: Cinnabar Island, Kanto**_

Cinnabar was the southernmost city in Kanto, a large island usually swarming with tourists, easily identifiable by the volcano that was right in the middle of the island. No one seemed to fear an eruption, as plenty of houses and shops were built around the volcano. On the northern and eastern shores of the island, there were long beaches full of sun worshippers and swimmers, all ignoring the danger of getting stung by a Tentacool, which the sea was full of – one couldn't swim two yards without a jellyfish suddenly popping out of the water.

Arriving to the island, Shane walked around the streets, trying to ask the locals about Blaine, but everyone ignored him, and most of the townspeople were about head taller than him. Finally, Shane managed to attract the attention of a Mohawk-haired guy, but once the guy noticed him and started waving around excitedly, Shane really wished that he hadn't.

"Shane!" yelled Timmy as he shoved some passersby out of his way. "Long time no see! Hey, guess what, I've already got five badges! Nifty, huh? How many have you got?"

"I, uh… well…" Shane paused and wished he had some bottle caps he could use as fake badges. "Well, who's counting, right?"

"Yeah," Timmy said. "You're probably right. So what are ya doing here? Still looking for the legendary Zapdos? What's the matter, was the abandoned Power Plant all… abandoned?"

Timmy chuckled, and Shane wanted to be somewhere else badly. He decided not to argue with Timmy, however.

"Mm, yeah," Shane nodded and tried to smile. "Hey, do you know where to find, Blaine, the gym leader?"

"Well, at the gym, _probably_. I was about to go there myself," Timmy said proudly, rattling his birdcage, which now had six Poké Balls inside it. "It's pretty hard to miss… the gym is at the foot of the volcano."

Shane looked at where Timmy was pointing. There was indeed a wide, two-story building right at the foot of the volcano. As Shane had a closer look, he realized that the volcano itself wasn't as big as he thought: it was only as tall as about three or four gyms. Now that he knew where Blaine was, Shane still had to find a way to get rid of Timmy.

"Hey, you're coming to the Pokémon League Tournament at the Indigo Plateau next week, right?" Timmy asked when Shane kept staring at the volcano.

"Uh… will you be there?" Shane asked.

"Of course! Wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"Oh. Then no," Shane said and quickly changed the subject: "So, what's this Blaine guy like? Nice? Nasty? Nosy? Nudist?"

"I've been asking around about him," Timmy said contemplatively, also staring at the volcano. "None of the locals seem to like him very much. They say he's sorta… eccentric."

"Well, gosh!" Shane gasped in fake shock. "He might be a dangerous lunatic, then! Why don't you go see the sights, Tommy, and I'll check this Mr. Blaine out. I'll, uh, call you when it's done."

"Okay, cool, I'm gonna check out the burned-out building for some new Pokémon!" Timmy said cheerfully.

Timmy started skipping to the opposite direction, but suddenly stopped as he realized something.

"Hang on…" Timmy said slowly as he turned around. "I didn't give you my num-"

But Shane was already gone.

Usually, the gyms in various towns were surrounded by enthusiastic young trainers bragging about their accomplishments. However, the Cinnabar Gym seemed to be deserted and the locals seemed to avoid it. Being located at the foot of a volcano sure didn't help. On the gym's doorstep, Shane saw a note attached to the door:

"_Visitors will be probed. – Blaine_"

As a precaution, Shane let Shrew out of its Poké Ball, then rung the doorbell. For a while, there was only silence. Then, a gruff, gravelly voice boomed from the speaker next to the door:

"_Welcome, challenger! If the other side of the gym you wish to see, you must answer me these questions three! Question one_-"

"Look, Mr. Blaine, I don't have time for this," Shane said impatiently, practically shaking in excitement about hearing what he had to say about the mysterious 'project'. "My name is Shane. I was sent here by Leaf Greene! Apparently, you're supposed to tell me about the…" Shane paused to look over his shoulder. "…the project?"

For a moment, Shane only heard frantic breathing from the intercom. Then, without warning, the floor beneath him and Shrew disappeared, dropping the two into a cavern below.

The fall ended quickly, as Shane and Shrew had landed on a soft mattress. They had dropped into what seemed to be a part of the volcano, as it was a completely round cavern that was incredibly warm. Shrew was practically panting in the heat, but Shane endured it just to meet Blaine. Looking around him, Shane was startled by the sudden appearance of a man who seemed to have emerged from the shadows.

Blaine was tall and rugged for a man his age, being probably in his 50's or early 60's. He was completely bald, but had a thick, Walrein-like white mustache that covered most of his mouth. His eyes weren't visible, as he wore a pair of dark sunglasses. He didn't seem to mind the heat, as he was not only wearing a suit and a tie, but also a lab coat on top of everything. Curiously, Blaine had a fingerless glove in his right hand, but not the left.

"Sent by Leaf, huh?" Blaine asked suspiciously – his voice sounded even more gravelly in person. Either he had smoked for most of his life or he had been inhaling too much smoke from the volcano. "We'll see about that soon. Magmar, c'mere!"

The red and yellow Pokémon Blaine had summoned initially seemed like a blob of solid magma standing on two legs. As it approached Shane, he could identify more features: Magmar had a long tail with a flame on the tip, spikes on its back and two big bumps on its forehead, with ever-present flames on top of the bumps.

"You do match Leaf's description," Blaine muttered, "but you could have some kind of ingenious mask. Magmar, use Flamethrower on our friend – if it's a mask, it'll surely melt off…"

"B-but if… I mean, _since_ I'm not wearing a mask," Shane stuttered, "then, uh, wouldn't my skin sort of… 'melt off'… too? Right?"

Blaine rubbed his chin for a moment, the raised his hand to stop Magmar from attacking.

"A fair point," Blaine said. "Very well, but if you truly aren't a Team Rocket Grunt in disguise, then you won't have any problems answering my riddle. Riddle me this, riddle me that…"

_Riddles_, Shane thought. _He's the Riddler!_ _So it all makes sense… that Eusine guy was The Joker, Leaf is Miss Purrloin, Timmy is The Penguin and Lance was Zubatman! So I must be… Batgirl_!

"I mean… Robin!" Shane said out loud, much to Blaine's confusion.

"What?"

"Um, never mind," Shane said nervously. "I mean… could you repeat the riddle for me? I seem to have a slight earwax dilemma…"

"Very well, and listen carefully," Blaine said, clearly enjoying his quizzing. "So, a Houndour is sleeping in the middle of a black road that has no streetlights and there is no moon. A car is coming down the road, its headlights off. And yet, the car easily steers around the Pokémon. The question is: how did the driver know the Houndour was there?"

Blaine folded his arms and looked at Shane expectantly. Shane wiped some sweat off his forehead and started to think, sitting on the ground with his legs crossed. Shrew mimicked is position and started thinking too.

"Hmm… the Houndour used its flame attack?" Shane guessed, but before Blaine could open his mouth, Shane gave it more thought. "No, wait, it was sleeping… um, there is no moon and the streetlights are off… maybe the power company screws up and accidentally turns one of them on? No… hang on… ooh, the driver was Sabrina! No, but wait, she doesn't really have psychic powers, only her Pokémon do… ooh, she was that Catlin girl from Unova I saw on TV… no, but wait, she doesn't have powers either…"

Shane grabbed a pen and ripped a blank page from his diary, starting to write down potential answers, then quickly erasing them and repeating the progress. Blaine watched him patiently, but after fifteen minutes, was already tapping his foot impatiently.

Finally, Shane raised his hand, something he never did in school.

"Yes?" Blaine asked.

"Simple," Shane said proudly. "The driver saw the Houndour thanks to those lights in front of the car!"

Blaine stared at Shane for a while with is mouth slightly open. Then, he pinched his nose and sighed.

"You mean headlights?" he groaned.

"Yeah, those!" Shane yelled, then seemed to realize something. "Oh, but wait… well, in that case, I don't know."

"It was daytime," Blaine deadpanned.

"Oooohhh…." Shane said slowly, looking a bit insulted. "Well… you should have said that before! So, does that mean you won't help me?"

"_Au contraire_, Shaney-boy," Blaine said cheerfully. "Now I _know_ you're who you claim to be. But we need to take precautions. Has anyone tried to make you swallow anything lately?"

"Huh?"

"Did anyone follow you here?" Blaine pressed. "Has anyone suspicious made contact with you lately? Seen any black helicopters on the sky? Seen any white helicopters that could have possibly been black before a paintjob on the sky?"

"I'm pretty sure none of those…" Shane said and tried to remember. "This guy on the ferry did offer to pay me if I hugged him for a while… though his eye kept twitching weirdly when he said 'hugged'… and he was escorted out before I could agree, which is a shame since I'm kinda broke at the moment..."

"Yes, good, good," Blaine mumbled, mainly to himself, walking around he cavern and knocking on random parts of the wall. "Hmm… nothing is hollow. Of course, most listening devices won't work this close to the volcano, but still… better safe than sorry…"

Blaine turned on a radio in the corner that Shane hadn't noticed before. Shane wondered how a radio could work when listening devices supposedly didn't, but decided not to ask Blaine that.

"_And finally, an announcement from our staff_," a man on the radio said. "_Construction for a Radio Tower has started in Lavender Town. The old Pokémon Tower, a massive Pokémon burial site, will be converted into a Radio Tower within a month. Despite protests from the local townspeople, the graves will be moved to a nearby temple, the 'House of Memories'. A woman previously employed by the Pokémon Tower has said that she wishes the owner of the new tower, Mr. Stinking Rich, to be 'haunted by the ghost of the Marowak forever'. Mr. Rich has complained to the Lavender Town Council that he feels that the rich are discriminated against in Kanto, and that he will hold a benefit concert called 'Aid For The Loaded' at Saffron Stadium this year…_"

"This is safer, I think," Blaine muttered.

He started pacing back and forth in front of Shane, who still sat on the ground next to Shrew, patiently waiting for Blaine to start spilling the beans. Blaine seemed to be unsure about where to start from, then finally took a wrinkled piece of paper from his pocket and shoved it to Shane.

"Do you know what Pokémon this is?" Blaine asked.

Shane looked at the paper, which was an artist's impression of a supposedly mythical Pokémon. It was floating in the air, resembling a sort of a pink cat with big, baby blue eyes and with hind legs like a rabbit. It also seemed to have an enormous-

"That its tail!" Blaine grunted and snatched the picture from Shane. "Anyway, that Pokémon is Mew… I think. No living person has actually seen it as far as I know…"

"_That's_ Mew?" Shane wondered. "I always imagined it to be this huge warrior beast in battle armor. Why do people keep showing me these pictures, anyway? Well, okay, it was kinda cute… hey, can I see it again?"

"No," Blaine grunted, wrinkled the paper into a ball and put it back in his pocket. "You see, about five years ago, I was… I worked for the Pokémon Laboratory here in Cinnabar. I was the lead geneticist of a certain, well, 'project'. Project Mewtwo."

Shane's senses sharpened as he stared at Blaine intently. Shrew was doing the same next to him. Shane had to listen very carefully, as Blaine talked as if the cavern was full of people, and the radio was still on, playing some sort of marching music.

"The goal of the project was to create the world's strongest Pokémon," Blaine explained. "I should have known back then that something was wrong, but the idea fascinated me. I knew the consequences, and still I co-operated… with them. Team Rocket."

Blaine spat the last two words, and grumpily folded his arms as he started pacing around the cavern again.

"Giovanni offered to fund the project," Blaine said bitterly. "Even though we all knew what he was capable of, we agreed. We were given more money than any of us had seen in our lives, and I was given the opportunity to work on something that no other scientist ever could. I offered to create an artificial Pokémon, itself something unforeseen back then, as Porygon wasn't created until a while after that. But Giovanni insisted that we use Mew's DNA. We tried to explain to him that it couldn't be done… well, all of us except Junior…"

"Uh… who?" Shane asked, reluctant to interrupt Blaine but wanting more info.

"Junior," Blaine repeated and looked at Shane. "Oh, right, you don't know… the Pokémon Lab was founded by Mr. Fuji about fifty years ago, to study the mysteries surrounding Pokémon. Fuji was the kindest person I ever met – probably the only one who'd recruit someone like me…"

Blaine didn't seem to mind that Shane didn't really get the nuances of his story, as he seemed to tell it to himself more than others. It was like he hadn't talked with anyone in a long while.

"By the time of the Mewtwo Project, Fuji had already retired, and his son, who we called Junior, took his place as the administrator. Fuji Sr. did live on the island then, but he was mostly just an advisor. He opposed the project, while his own son was its most ardent supporter. Shortly before the project, he had, um… lost his daughter. Junior was very interested in cloning, feeling that it was the key to reviving his lost child. I don't know exactly how he did it, but Junior was able to lead an expedition to some island far away and retrieve something he believed to be a part of Mew…"

"Junior and I shared the position of project leader. He developed some advanced cloning techniques while I created the synthesized tissue for our new Pokémon. Even then, we had surprisingly little contact and I didn't really see any of Fuji's experiments, but there were rumors… rumors that many Pokémon he had cloned had died…"

"It was thanks to me that we succeeded. I, uh… I managed to use a sample of my own DNA and fuse it with Mew's to get the perfect result."

Blaine fiddled with his gloved hand during a few seconds of silence before continuing.

"'We dreamed of creating the world's strongest Pokémon'," Blaine quoted, '"and we succeeded'. Those were Junior's last words. I remember the day well. Mewtwo had been... _born_ a week before. There was a celebration, but I didn't take any part in it. While Mewtwo slept, I educated the creature, told it what it was, told it about its powers, told it bedtime stories... I don't know if it understood me… but I knew already that it had powerful psychic abilities and could potentially kill us all if it wanted to."

"When Junior found out that I was practically living in the lab, he forced me to take a day off. I spent the whole day wondering what they'd do with my… with Mewtwo. Later that day, it seems that Mewtwo had sort of… grown up. It destroyed the lab and practically everyone in it and escaped. I ran to the lab just in time to meet that slimeball Giovanni… he was furious, but I couldn't care less about _him_. Only Giovanni, Fuji Sr. and myself know that I had just created a monster… well, _monsters_. And Mewtwo is still on the run. Fuji was devastated and moved away from Cinnabar. A new laboratory was created, a new staff was hired and now they research boring things like TM's, items, fossils and whatever. "

Blaine didn't sound too sad about the death of his colleagues. In fact, he told the story passionately, and his voice didn't crack once. Apparently he had gotten over the stage of grief – or, if Shane had to guess, he had never grieved at all.

"So…" Shane said slowly, thinking that he was allowed to speak now that Blaine was quiet and still kept pacing back and forth. "Petrel and this new Team Rocket…"

"Yeah, they're after it, I'm sure. They call themselves _Neo_ Team Rocket, and believe me, Petrel's not the one in charge," Blaine said with contempt. "After Mewtwo escaped, Giovanni spent all his time trying to find it, no doubt itching to get his hands on the strongest Pokémon ever, but before he could find it, he was defeated by…"

"…Red, I know," Shane groaned. This hero worship was starting to give him a headache.

"Yes, after Giovanni fell, I contacted Red," Blaine reminisced. "He had fought me before and won. No one else treated his Pokémon with such kindness…"

Shane yawned.

"Furthermore, Red showed he could beat more than old gym leaders when he stopped a rampaging Moltres from destroying this island," Blaine said. "He was the perfect person to find Mewtwo, so I sent him to hunt it down before it killed anyone else. But then he disappeared too… Giovanni, Red, Mewtwo, none of them have been seen since. I wondered if I could just focus on being the gym leader and forget about my past sins… and then I heard about that supposed Suicune killing on Route 224, and now I know that we _have_ to find Mewtwo."

"Uh… we?" Shane asked. He hadn't signed on to this – if oh-so-great-and-powerful Red had vanished without a trace while trying to find it, was he really looking forward to trying the same.

Blaine hadn't heard Shane's worried question, as he took something else from the pocket of his lab coat and handed it to Shane. It was a Poké Ball, but slightly different from the normal ones. The top half of the ball was purple instead of red, with two pink circles on both sides of a small white 'M'.

"The Master Ball," Blaine said as Shane stared at the ball and held it like it was something incredibly fragile. "The ball with a 101% success rate, and that's not a math error. Catches any, and I mean _any_ Pokémon without fail. It's actually the first one Silph ever made, given to Red after he rescued their president and staff from Team Rocket. He left it in my possession before heading to capture Mewtwo, saying that he wouldn't need it…"

"Well _he_ sure sounds arrogant!" Shane said self-righteously, glad to have _finally_ found some flaws from the mighty Red.

"You, on the other hand, clearly need it, if what Leaf told was accurate," Blaine said, ruining Shane's good mood. "I'm asking you to go and find the Mewtwo, and call me if you've located it. Here…"

Shane wondered if Blaine had his entire house packed in his pockets, as he pulled a PokéGear from there and handed it to Shane, who immediately checked to see if it had 'Angry Starly' in it.

"My number's in there, but we'll have to talk in code," Blaine said. "The instructions are there too."

"So, why can't you go and hunt for this thing?" Shane wondered as he put the Poké Gear in his backpack.

"Are you crazy?" Blaine grunted and looked around the cavern anxiously, as if expecting men in black bursting through solid rock any minute. "Team Rocket isn't exactly happy with me. Now that they're back, they no doubt have orders to kill… plus I hate public transport. Did you know that bus seats can identify you from the shape of your buttocks these days? The information they gather is sent to the government which they use in psychological manipulation and-"

"Okay, okay," Shane said as he didn't want to imagine Blaine's buttocks. "I'll, uh… I'll try my best. Which way to the exit?"

Blaine eyed Shane suspiciously for a moment, but eventually walked to fiddle with something on the wall. Shane noticed that Blaine's Magmar was nonetheless staring at him all the time. Blaine pressed a hidden button on the wall, and a part of it slid away just like the walls in the Game Corner, revealing a staircase carved in stone, leading out from the volcano. As Shane was about to step into the stairs, Blaine put his scarred, blister-filled left hand on Shane's shoulder.

"Good luck, kid. Look out for Team Rocket and don't trust what the media says," Blaine said. "I'll be here at the gym. Don't call unless you're certain that you've found Mewtwo! And, um…"

Blaine suddenly didn't sound so gruff anymore. Though Shane couldn't see Blaine's eyes through the sunglasses, Blaine was clearly avoiding eye contact with Shane and looking unsure of himself, swaying back and forth.

"Thanks for listening to me," Blaine said finally. "Haven't had a visitor in months! People seem to avoid my gym nowadays, can you believe that? Now get on out of here!"

* * *

**Thanks for any reviews, favoriting, alerts and to anyone who has read this in general! Stay tuned for the next chapter**, "Berserk Gene", **where Mewtwo finally makes an appearance.**

**Also, I've been thinking of doing a short, three-chapter Mewtwo fic to accompany this chapter, titled "Life"**. **It'll be nice to do something more serious for a change**.


	7. Berserk Gene

**CHAPTER SEVEN: **_**BERSERK GENE**_

_**Location: Route 1, Kanto**_

_Shane's log, Day 37_: "_It's been a while since my last entry, but I have been spelunking around Kanto… is that the right word? Spelunking? Well, whatever, for over two weeks now, I have been on a holy quest to find the missing Pokémon Mewtwo. I only just realized that I have gone around Kanto two times now – this region is small! That said, there's a slight chance I may have been going in circles since I'm at Route 1 for the fifth time by now, and getting increasingly desperate. What are the chances of running into a legendary Pokémon at Ro_-"

Shane stopped writing. At first, he thought he merely had dust in his contact lenses. Then, after remembering he didn't wear any, he started looking around – the Route around him was deserted, being just a small rural sand road with trees on both sides. But Shane was certain that he saw a glimpse of blue between the trees. That said, the locals at Pallet Town had warned him about a creepy guy giving free Potions to kids lurking around somewhere, and Shane looked enough like a kid.

"Better pick up the pace," Shane muttered, mainly to keep himself calm.

But Shane could only take a few steps before stopping again. He had definitely heard rustling from the thickets nearby. Shane put his diary away quickly and opened one of the Poké Balls on his belt. As Zuba popped out of the ball, Shane pointed at the thicket.

"Be a good bloodsucker and go check it out," Shane said, and Zuba immediately obeyed.

As Shane watched Zuba go, he could swear he heard distant rumbling. However, he decided that living on Pokémon food and berries had just messed up his digestive system, so he ignored it. Even though it was getting louder… and louder… and he could hear some kind of shouting from behind him:

"LOOK OUT! LOOK OUT, YOU IDIOT!"

Shane could only see a glimpse of something red as Zuba pushed him on the ground. The luxurious red convertible that barely missed him stopped inches away from where Shane had stood. The driver, a man in a purple suit, stepped out whilst screaming in panic.

"My car!" Eusine wailed. "It _almost_ got a dent! Don't you people realize the damage a human body can do to a car?"

Shane pulled his face out of the mud puddle Zuba had pushed him into, muttering his thanks to Zuba while wiping mud off his face.

"Oh, hey, I know you!" Eusine said upon realizing who he had almost killed. "Dane, right?"

"Um, sure, whatever," Shane mumbled as he shook his head like a dog, splattering mud all over the place. Eusine stepped backwards in disgust, pulling his cape away from Shane.

"I normally stay away from places like this," Eusine clarified and moved back towards his car as if Shane was contagious, "but I'm here on an important mission. I've been asking around and I'm sure that Suicune has been running somewhere around here! I recognize Suicune tracks when I see them!"

Shane suddenly looked at the thicket he had seen something blue in, then turned towards Eusine.

"Wait, Suicune!" Shane yelled in realization. "It… I saw it here! It ran around those trees over there, heading east. I think-"

"_You _saw it?" Eusine asked in disbelief and snorted. "Yeah, _or_ most likely you had a piece of glass under your eyelid or something. Suicune only shows itself to those who are worthy. Something, which _I_ will one day become!" Eusine proclaimed dramatically, scaring off a swarm of Pidgey sitting in a nearby tree.

Shane didn't respond, but looked back into the thicket. What he saw was definitely big, blue and fast, and while he often saw nightmares of huge naked Smurfs attacking, he was sure that he had seen a legendary Pokémon. But Eusine just shook his head and jumped back into his car.

"No, most likely this is just a bad lead," Eusine said. "Suicune is probably heading towards Cerulean City right now. There's a cave in there which all powerful Pokémon gather around. Something mystical going on in there, no doubt…"

Shane stared at Eusine. "A cave?" he asked. "Uh… what can you tell me about it?"

"Hey, don't even dream of trying to get in," Eusine warned. "They only let Champions and members of the Elite Four in there. I tried to show my LPS-badge to the guard, but to avail. What a douche! He wouldn't even let me in when I offered that wonderful drawing of Suicune that I made! Look!"

And Eusine took a piece of paper covered in plastic wrap from his glove compartment and showed it to Shane, although he kept it at arm's length. Without the text explanation, Shane would have never guessed it was Suicune, as it looked more like a purple-haired Smurf holding hands with a stick figure with brown hair and a purple suit.

"Uh… that's lovely," Shane lied – he needed to keep Eusine pleased for this. "But, I really would like to see that cave you talked about. Mind giving me a lift?"

Eusine snorted again as he looked at Shane's muddy clothing, which hadn't been washed since Shane left Viridian City over a month ago. "You think I'd let you soil my car with your presence?" he scoffed. "You could have diseases yet to be named by human science!"

"I'll have my Poliwhirl wash me first!" Shane said quickly. "And we could talk about Suicune on the way!"

Suddenly, Eusine didn't look so contemptuous anymore. "Did you mention Suicune?" he asked with an almost psychotic grin on his face. "Hop in, I'll tell you my latest Suicune trivia. You see-".

"Yeah, I'll listen to you in a minute," Shane said as he took a PokéGear from his backpack. "I gotta make a call first…"

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Outskirts of Cerulean City, Kanto**_

The Cerulean Cave's entrance was carved out from a hillside, looking like the mouth of a gargantuan beast. A thick layer of mist surrounded the area every night, and the pale moonlight made the area look even more haunting. The guard that stood in front of the entrance had just started his nightshift, being used to the haunting silhouettes of the trees that were barely visible through the mist. He merely stood there with a flashlight in hand, ordered by the Pokémon League not to let anyone in. The money was very good considering he never had do anything except occasionally yell at some kids who tried to get into the cave.

When the guard heard some rustling from the trees in front of him, he quickly turned on his flashlight and pointed, watching the silhouette of a man emerging from the haze.

"Who's there?" the guard asked loudly – this wouldn't be the first time when a desperate trainer had tried to sneak into the cave.

But this time, it was a man who the guard recognized: tall stature, spiky red hair and a fancy black cape.

"Champion Lance!" the guard uttered in surprise and bowed curtly. "I didn't know you… what are you doing here? Um… sir?"

"Important Pokémon League business," the red-haired man replied, standing a few yards away from the guard. "Come over here."

The guard hesitated – his job was to stand in front of the cave's entrance eight hours a day, five days a week, that's it. This was the only night when someone asked him to move, but he couldn't exactly say no to the Pokémon League Champion.

So, the guard took a few steps towards the red-haired man in a cape. But when he was close enough, the man grabbed a nightstick from his belt and knocked the guard out. Two Rocket Grunts approached from the mist, dragging the unconscious guard away, while the red-haired man removed his cape, his elevator shoes and his mask and wig, revealing himself to be a shorter, skinnier man with purple hair.

"Whew, I can't believe I've never went as this Lance guy before!" Petrel said cheerfully. "People really do whatever he says. Plus that cape was _faaan-ceee_! All right boys, we've got work to do!"

And one by one, Petrel and a dozen Rocket Grunts snuck into the underground tunnel, climbing through the entrance and disappearing into the darkness.

**~o~O~o~**

About an hour later, Shane and Blaine stood at that very clearing, watching the pitch-black entrance to the Cerulean Cave. It was a warm, quiet night and the full moon as well as the lights from Cerulean City illuminated the place well, yet something still seemed off. Shane was trying to hide the fact that he was shivering while Blaine simply admired the view, nodding to himself. He still hadn't taken off his sunglasses.

"Of course… the Cerulean Cave," Blaine muttered. "Good thing you called me, Shane. You ready for this? You haven't traded the Master Ball for candy yet, have you?"

"No!" Shane said shakily. "The candy shop wouldn't accept it," he added quietly.

Shane turned to look at Blaine.

"I mean, I only heard about this place just now," he said, as he really wasn't keen on entering a creepy tunnel. "I could be wrong! That Eusine guy just said that powerful Pokémon gathered here and he also told me that Team Rocket sightings were commonplace here and… and… well, it might _not_ be here, so…"

"It's here," Blaine cut in, his gloved hand clenched in a fist. "And it's awake… someone else is here too, after the same thing as us…"

"How can you know that?" Shane wondered.

But Blaine didn't respond. Instead, he focused his attention on something else. "There's no guard," he said, pointing at the entrance. "Unusual…"

"Yeah, what's the deal with that anyway?" Shane wondered. "This elitism is ridiculous. First they won't let me into the Legendary Pokémon Society and now they have some snobby cave in which to have tea parties and tea orgies in!"

"They only let Elite Four members and Pokémon League Champions here," Blaine explained, "because of an abnormally strong Pokémon population. For years now, this cave has attracted an unusual amount of high-level Pokémon here, many of which who don't even live in caves. No one really knew the cause… until now."

"I wish we had the Champion with us," Shane said, but didn't sound so afraid when he talked about the Champ. "Hey, Blaine, guess what, I've met him once!"

"Lance?" Blaine asked as he looked around him, making sure nothing or no one would jump at him from the fog.

"Yeah," Shane sighed wistfully. "Whenever I think of Lance, my hand is busy…"

Blaine looked at him in confusion.

"…writing journal entries about him," Shane finished his sentence without even noticing Blaine's stare.

Blaine looked like he was about to say something, but decided to just shrug. He lit his flashlight and marched into the tunnel, and as Shane didn't want to be left alone on a spooky clearing in the middle of the night, he followed, but not before letting Shrew out of its ball – he needed company now more than ever.

Inside, the cave was almost completely dark, as it didn't have any sources of light like Mt. Moon did, forcing Shane and Blaine to navigate with their flashlights, Shrew following closely behind and flinching at even the smallest noise. Stalactites and stalagmites had formed inside the very damp cave, and water kept dripping from the ceiling. Shane, Blaine and Shrew walked right next to an underground river and constantly heard it washing. The occasional screeching of a Zubat could also be heard in the distance, among other Pokémon cries.

"I wish we could see better," Blaine grumbled. "Team Rocket might creep behind us any minute now…"

"Oh, but we can see!" Shane said loudly, causing Blaine to punch him in the arm. "Ow! I mean… we can see," he whispered and opened one of the Poké Balls on his belt. "Droid, Flash!"

Shane's Magneton heard the command even before it was out of its ball, and the Philips head screws all over its body lit up like torches, casting light on a wide area. Blaine nodded.

"Good," he muttered, barely moving his lips. "Now be ready! The enemy always has a way of sneaking behind you in situations like this!"

As Blaine said that, both Shane and Blaine looked behind them. There was nothing. Sighing in relief, Shane and Blaine looked at each other, then looked forward again and gasped.

Petrel was standing before them with his arms crossed and a smug smile on his face, surrounded by five Rocket Grunts as well as several Zubat, Koffing and Raticate. Petrel looked like someone who had won the lottery and inherited a fortune from an unpleasant relative on the same day.

"About time," Petrel drawled. "It's _damp_ in here! My custom uniform is all soggy… now, you do realize that we had a backup plan in place, hmm? We put a bug and a listening device on the blonde kid," Petrel nodded in Shane's direction, "the moment he entered our hideout."

The Rocket Grunts kept staring at Shane and Blaine, preventing them from doing anything, allowing Petrel to pace around and rant:

"It's been an _agonizing_ couple of weeks, I tell you, trapped with a dozen Grunts in an enclosed space with only bathroom and _zero_ elbow-room. Having to listen to this kid's pathetic drabbling and your sob story about Mewtwo… but now, _finally_, we know where it is. And you," Petrel paused to point at Blaine dramatically, "will lead us straight to it, won't you?"

"Nah," Blaine grunted. "I don't feel like it."

"Oh, _come on_, Blainey," Petrel said and laughed joylessly, motioning the grunts behind him to do the same. "Giovanni always spoke so highly of you, praising your intelligence and passion, while also noting you had none of those _ethical boundaries_ to limit your work…"

Petrel turned to his grunts and made them laugh as well. Blaine took advantage of the split-second pause, nudging Shane and tilting his head towards the underground river. Shane turned to look: the river flowed downwards, deeper into the underground cave – apparently, there was no other way to get to Mewtwo. Shane gulped at the thought of having to swim towards the infinite darkness downstream.

"It isn't too late to work for us again, Blaine," Petrel drawled, clearly having the time of his life. "Just imagine it – with Mewtwo at our side, we'd be unstoppable. Just think of all the credit we would get from our leader!" Petrel stopped ranting to smile like a maniac, his eyes bulging a bit as he stared into the distance. "I will be able to take a place of honor by his side and he'll treat me like I was his own son..."

"NOW!" Blaine shouted.

Blaine used his other hand to push Shane towards the river while he opened a Poké Ball on his belt with the other. Shane quickly opened his own, calling out Swirly, his Poliwhirl. Shane pointed at the river and the Poliwhirl jumped in. Shane grabbed Shrew and Droid with him and climbed on Swirly's back. The Rocket Grunts advanced towards him, but Blaine's Magmar kept them at bay with a breath of fire. Petrel responded by sending out a Pokémon of his own, his Electabuzz, that started wrestling with Blaine's Magmar.

Meanwhile, Shane's Poliwhirl swam the underground river downstream, moving as fast as an Olympic swimmer, as if the strong current wasn't even there. Shane constantly felt like he was falling off the Poliwhirl's back, as his hands were full of Sandshrew and Magneton, forcing him to wrap his legs around the Poliwhirl. Looking over his shoulder, he could see Magmar's and Electabuzz's attacks colliding, creating an explosion that echoed throughout the cave, then Blaine and the Rockets disappeared from Shane's sight.

In the light that his Magneton casted on the walls of the tunnel, Shane noticed large holes in the ceiling – could Mewtwo's hideout be accessed from there? But Swirly was moving too fast for him to really stop thinking – and he could once again hear rumbling from behind him.

Shane turned to look: seven Rocket Grunts were moving towards him, riding small, autonomously moving boats, and all of them had a Pokémon at their side. Shane noticed that the green-haired female grunt Shane faced at Mt. Moon was leading them, yelling something at her subordinates and her Raticate. The underground river was so narrow that only two Rocket Grunts could sail side by side. The female grunt was rapidly approaching Shane, who could hear her screams now:

"Raticate, get him!"

The grunt's boat was close enough for Raticate to jump at Shane. Shrew curled into a ball in fear.

"Thunderbolt!" Shane yelled in panic.

Even though Shane was still holding his Magneton, he wasn't shocked or hurt at all when Droid launched a powerful electric attack towards the Raticate, knocking it out mid-air and causing it to fall into the river. Its owner panicked, and steered her boat towards the cavern wall, causing her to fall off the boat and land on another grunt's face.

However, five more faceless thugs kept rapidly approaching Shane, and their Koffing kept firing sludge at him. Droid fired Thunderbolts as fast as it could, but the Rockets steered around the attacks. Finally, Droid was able to sink one of the Rockets, but the others kept creeping closer. In panic, Shane just yelled at Droid to attack, but this only confused the Magneton, so it did nothing. Shrew, however, uncurled itself and seemed to have an idea. While Shane screamed and flailed around, Shrew tapped the remaining Poké Ball on Shane's belt.

Shane's Zubat came out, and quickly latched onto its owner so it wouldn't get swept away by the airstream. Shane could only wonder what Shrew was up to, but Shrew wiggled its way out of Shane's grip and grabbed something from Shane's backpack – the useless piece of rope Shane had bought from Pewter City.

"Brilliant, Shrew!" Shane yelled and realized Shrew's plan, dodging another attack from the Rockets as he tied the rope's other end on the Zubat and the other end on his Poliwhirl that still kept swimming and didn't seem to show any signs of exhaustion. With Zubat pulling the Poliwhirl, the gang could now move faster and leave the grunts behind them.

But their troubles weren't over yet – the Rockets sent a swarm of Golbat after Shane and his Pokémon – their enormous mouths were wide open as always as they flashed their sharp teeth. Some of them even had their tongues out, like they couldn't wait to suck Shane and his Pokémon dry.

Once again, Shrew had an idea. It had climbed on Shane's shoulders and it scratched his ear to attract his attention. When Shane looked at Shrew, it plugged its tiny ears with its fingers. Shane understood.

"Zuba, Supersonic!" Shane ordered and plugged his own ears. Swirly did the same, stopping its swimming and letting the current do its thing. Droid didn't seem to be affected.

Zuba blasted a powerful, high-pitched sound wave at the approaching Golbat. The effect was immediate: as the sound grew in intensity in the narrow tunnel, the Golbat started crashing into the walls and each other, while the Rockets lost control of their boats as they had to cover their ears. Only two grunts managed to stay in their boats, and they were left far behind.

But Shane's interest was drawn to something else: as its powerful attack had knocked out so many enemies, Zuba had started glowing and morphing. It grew in size, growing a pair of legs as well as two small eyes. Its mouth grew enormous and its teeth seemed to get bigger and sharper as well. Before Shane's eyes, his Zubat had evolved into a Golbat.

Shane was about to yell his congratulations, but Shrew squealed in absolute horror and pointing forward. The underground river was approaching its end, as instead of a narrow tunnel, the group was approaching a much larger cave and heard a loud, crashing sound.

"Waterfall!" Shane yelled and looked up.

Miraculously, there was another hole in the ceiling above them, just before the waterfall. Though it was small, Shane was skinny enough to squeeze through. Acting quickly, Shane pointed out the hole to his Golbat and grabbed one of its legs. As soon as he felt himself rising towards the hole, Shane recalled his Poliwhirl and made sure he had a tight grip on Shrew. His Magneton calmly floated after Shane, and the group could hear the Rockets' panicked screams as they ended up in the waterfall.

Shane's Golbat dropped him in a much smaller, and if possible, even darker cave that didn't seem like it was created naturally – it was like it was carved by someone, or some_thing_. Though Magneton gave them light, it was still impossible to tell where they were.

And then Shane paused, as when his Magneton rose higher, light was cast over a Pokémon which Shane had never seen before, but instantly knew what it was – Mewtwo.

Mewtwo was almost completely unlike the picture of Mew that Blaine had shown, although it had some feline-like features. It stood instead of floating and was much bigger and more menacing-looking than Mew. Mewtwo's body was mostly grayish-purple except for its purple underside and very long, purple tail. It had three, thick, circular fingers on both hands. Some kind of tube extended from the back of its skull to its spine, probably to support its rather large head, as its neck looked frail.

Shane expected to be blown to smithereens for daring to make eye contact with the thing, but Mewtwo simply stood there and stared at him with its purple eyes. Shane briefly thought about running away, but thought it would agitate Mewtwo, so he stood still, cowering slightly.

"Um… hi," he said stupidly. "You're… well, you're Mewtwo, right?" Shane asked. He wasn't sure if it understood, and it probably couldn't respond either way.

"I'm, uh…" Shane cleared his throat. "You… you have killed people, Mewtwo," he said, attempting to sound brave and failing miserably. "That is, um, very bad. My mission is to take you away, and… yeah. If you don't mind..."

While trying to chat up Mewtwo, Shane's other hand was rummaging his backpack. Shrew had latched onto Shane's foot and was now shivering in fear, unable to look at Mewtwo. Finally, Shane found the Master Ball, but knew enough not to just try and throw it at Mewtwo. He needed a distraction.

"Droid, you feel up for it?" he asked his Magneton. "Blink one eye for yes, two eyes for no, three eyes for 'you've accidentally tucked your shirt into your boxers again'. Got it?"

The Magneton blinked one eye and turned towards Mewtwo, who didn't seem affected by anything. It just stood there.

"Droid, Thunder Wave," Shane ordered shakily.

The Magneton released blue sparks of electricity from its body, attempting to wrap the electricity around Mewtwo, but the clone Pokémon repelled the attack with a mere flick of a finger.

"Crap," Shane muttered. "Um, Droid, use… Thunderbolt!"

Magneton launched a much more powerful electric attack at Mewtwo, but this time, Mewtwo's eyes glowed blue and a blue sphere appeared around its body, protecting it from the attack and launching it back towards Magneton. A second later, all of Magneton's three eyes started spinning as its own electrical attack fried it and knocked it out. Shane let out a desperate wail, but could't recall Droid as it was the only source of light in the cave. Instead, he turned to his Golbat.

"Zuba… and I ain't changing your nickname just because you're all big and eye-equipped now," Shane said. "I need you right now, but…" Shane lowered his voice and glanced at Mewtwo, wondering why it hadn't used an attack to melt Shane's brain by now. "…just keep it distracted, okay?" Shane requested his Golbat, who nodded and flew towards Mewtwo, whose eyes glowed blue again.

"Zuba, look out!" Shane warned.

Golbat barely dodged when Mewtwo launched a black orb of destructive energy towards it, shattering a few rocks in the cave and forcing Shane and Shrew to dodge behind a particularly large rock. Shane squeezed the Master Ball tightly, but had no idea when he could throw it. He had a feeling that Mewtwo would sense him throwing it and destroy it, thus ruining Shane's chances forever.

"Zuba, Confuse Ray!" Shane ordered.

Golbat, who was currently flying in circles above Mewtwo, launched an orb of yellow light towards it, but this attack was also blocked effortlessly. Mewtwo then fired another Shadow Ball at Golbat, and the attack almost grazed the Pokémon, but it remained airborne.

Shane sighed in relief. "Good thing that big lug can't fly or anything," Shane muttered to Shrew.

But then Mewtwo's eyes glowed blue again and it started hovering above ground. Levitating just as easily as Mew had done in the picture, Mewtwo launched itself towards Golbat, taking it by surprise and knocking the Pokémon out. Shane quickly returned his unconscious Golbat before it hit the rocky ground, while Mewtwo landed gracefully.

Shane started sweating in terror – he only had two Pokémon left. One was cowering behind his leg and the other one was exhausted after swimming in an unrealistically long underground river and dodging attacks. Nonetheless, Shane had no choice. Shane opened a Poké Ball on his belt and sent out his Poliwhirl.

"Swirly, I just need this guy's back turned for a few seconds!" Shane ordered, fully knowing that Mewtwo had heard his every word. "Don't take any unnecessary risks. Water Gun!"

Poliwhirl didn't seem at all exhausted like Shane thought – instead it gave Shane a thumbs-up and fired a stream of water towards Mewtwo. Just like with Droid, Mewtwo conjured a protective blue shield around it and launched the attack back. However, Poliwhirl was quick to dodge as it hid behind another rock.

"Try Hypnosis!" Shane attempted desperately.

Poliwhirl nodded and came out from its hiding place, facing Mewtwo in the open. The spirals on Poliwhirl's belly started spinning, and for a moment, Shane thought it worked: Mewtwo simply stared at the spirals, and the… its eyes glowed blue again. As if an invisible force had just picked it up, Poliwhirl stopped using Hypnosis as it was lifted in the air. Mewtwo waved its arm carelessly, and Poliwhirl was slammed against the wall.

"Swirly!" Shane cried and returned it as well.

It was all over… Shane could practically hear Mewtwo approaching him now, ready to end him for annoying it and disturbing its peace. He had no more Pokémon left, so what was he going to do? Give the Master Ball to Mewtwo and kindly ask it to go inside? Suddenly, he heard a squeaking sound from his feet:

"_Shreeew_!"

Shane looked down at his Sandshrew, who wasn't cowering behind Shane's leg anymore. Instead, it stood more upright and proud than ever and pointed at itself. Shane looked at the little Pokémon in disbelief.

"Wait… you're saying that… you? Seriously?"

Shrew nodded and Shane grimaced at the idea of Mewtwo flinging the helpless Sandshrew around with its psychic powers. But Shrew seemed to insist, as it pulled its stomach in flexed its nonexistent muscles. Then, before Shane could stop it, Shrew ran away from its hiding place and towards Mewtwo.

"Shrew, I…" Shane paused and smiled as he watched the Sandshrew go. "Good luck!"

Mewtwo watched Shrew approaching it at first, as if it found the Sandshrew's sudden bravery laughable. It launched another Shadow Ball at Shrew, but to Shane's surprise, Shrew dodged the attack and kept running at Mewtwo like the clone Pokémon was covered in Pokéfood or something.

"Shrew, Slash!" Shane yelled quickly.

Shrew jumped towards Mewtwo and tried to scratch its face, but Mewtwo used its psychic powers again and threw it against the wall. Shane was ready to recall it, but was once again surprised when Shrew got up, shook its head and started running at Mewtwo again.

"'Atta boy!" Shane yelled, then looked thoughtful for a second, and added: "Or girl! I'm not sure! Doesn't matter! Fight!"

Shrew easily dodged Mewtwo's attacks, but it also couldn't lay a finger on Mewtwo. But, unless Shane's eyes deceived him (which they often did), Mewtwo's defenses seemed to falter a bit every time, as if it was getting tired. However, Shrew was panting too, covered in bruises, and Shane knew it couldn't last long, brave or not.

"Damn, that thing is overpowered," Shane thought. "Curse Blaine and his strong work ethic!"

Then Shane realized something. _Blaine… of course!_

"Mewtwo, you have to stop!" Shane yelled as loud as he could. "I'm not trying to capture you! Blaine sent me to stop you! Don't you remember him?"

Mewtwo hesitated a bit – Shane could swear its head turned towards Shane when he mentioned Blaine's name. In response, Shrew acted on its own, spitting sand right into Mewtwo's eyes. Mewtwo was about to swipe the sand off with its other hand while launch an attack towards Shrew with the other, when Shane quickly yelled another order:

"Rollout!"

Shrew curled into a ball and rolled upwards, climbing Mewtwo's body and hitting it in the face. Within the few seconds he had to act, Shane ran behind Mewtwo, and just as Mewtwo was about to attack Shrew, Shane hurled the Master Ball at it. Trying to attack Shrew and block the ball at the same time, Mewtwo hesitated, and the ball struck its face.

Shane's heart almost stopped as he stared the Master Ball opening and sucking Mewtwo inside it. As if in slow-motion, the Master Ball dropped on the ground, the light in the center being bright red. It wriggled on the ground once… twice… and then it stopped. As the light was turned off, the Master Ball remained motionless.

Slowly and still out of breath, Shane picked up the Master Ball, which Shrew followed with its gaze. Shane opened his mouth to say something to commemorate this occasion, but nothing came out.

Then, a completely different voice boomed above them:

"Very good. I must say, I didn't think you had it in you."

Shane instantly pulled the Master Ball closer to himself as he and Shrew turned to look at the source of the voice. In the dim light that the unconscious Magneton emitted, Shane could see something he hadn't noticed earlier: there was a cliff above them, and nearby was an entrance to a tunnel – apparently the cave wasn't as closed off as they thought.

A man was standing on the cliff, wearing a long, black coat on top of a suit. His face was obscured by a black hat, and somehow, his deep, commanding voice gave frightened Shane even more than the encounter with Mewtwo. Though Shane suspected that he knew who the man was, his suspicions were confirmed when he removed his hat: he had slick black hair, pale waxy skin and black, lifeless eyes. The man whose name Shane could neither spell nor pronounce stared down at him, never blinking, with a hollow, creepy smile on his face.

"So you have done it," Giovanni said as he stared at Shane. "Captured Mewtwo. Whoever you are, you must be powerful."

Shane couldn't think of an answer. He just stared at Giovanni, wide-eyed and openmouthed.

"My arrival here isn't exactly a coincidence, you know," Giovanni continued calmly, like he hadn't even been expecting Shane to answer. "But I no longer associate with Team Rocket. I have dedicated my life to the study of Pokémon, and one day I will rise above all others when I discover their deepest secrets…"

Shane made a weird stuttering sound which Giovanni didn't even seem to hear.

"You have captured Mewtwo, but you have no hope of controlling it," Giovanni said, still smiling. "Oh, I know it all too well… it escaped me once four years ago. But since then, I have seen and learned things that you couldn't even imagine. Now… _I _could control it. And you could be there at my side. Together, we would see things no one else could. All you have to do… is to give me the ball."

Shane took his eyes away from Giovanni and stared at the pink and purple Master Ball in his hand. Was this his chance? The Legendary Pokémon Society had rejected him already – twice, in fact. Even Shane had heard his fair share of Giovanni and knew what he was capable of. He probably had connections everywhere and powers Shane couldn't even comprehend. And he could do it. He just had to throw the ball at Giovanni.

Shane's hand started shaking. Shrew looked at him with concern, while Giovanni's smile grew wider.

"Together, we could defeat Team Rocket and whoever else tried to step in our way," Giovanni cajoled. "That Petrel isn't the only one who has been keeping an eye on you… I know what you desire. I know you want to learn the secrets behind Pokémon. And here's your chance. Just give me the ball…"

Briefly, Shane saw himself, Giovanni and Mewtwo standing on a huge rock, surrounded by swarms of worshipers.

But the image quickly faded when Shane thought about Blaine. He was most likely still fighting Petrel – if he was even alive. He had placed his trust in Shane, knowing that he'd capture Mewtwo. He was even ready to die for this cause.

Slowly, Shane turned to look up at Giovanni. "No," he said quietly.

Giovanni seemed to have heard it, as his smile faded for a second, but quickly returned.

"Very well, then," Giovanni said. "A clear answer. But you must understand… after all that effort of eavesdropping on you and the Rockets, sneaking into the cave… not to mention the three years of hiding, waiting for a signal from Mewtwo…"

Giovanni's voice became louder and his smile started to fade again. Shane could see a Persian at his feet, licking its lips as it looked down at Shrew.

Suddenly, the floor of the cave shook a bit and Shane could hear an explosion in the distance, but Giovanni kept staring at Shane and the Master Ball.

"I put millions into the project," Giovanni said, but didn't sound so calm anymore. "I won't give up now. You could have chosen wisely. You could have earned a place by my side. But instead, you said 'no'. Well, I guess I'll just have to turn back and go home now. _Or_…"

Giovanni moved so quickly that Shane didn't have time to dodge. He opened the four Poké Balls that he pulled from his pockets, and soon Shane was surrounded by four humongous Pokémon: a Machamp, a Kingler, a Golem and a Rhyperior.

"Kill him," Giovanni ordered calmly.

The Pokémon advanced, and despite being tired and battered, Shrew stepped in front of its master, spreading its tiny arms in front of him. But Shane knew that Shrew was barely able to stand, let alone block the simultaneous attacks of four powerful Pokémon, so he buried his face in his hands and waited for them to strike.

Then, things happened in rapid succession. The cave shook again, this time more intensely, causing Giovanni to fall down. This distracted Giovanni's Pokémon, causing Shane to open his eyes. He could only see a flash of pink before he and Shrew abruptly disappeared. Before Giovanni could realize what had happened, the cave started collapsing, with huge chunks of the ceiling crashing down. Giovanni quickly recalled his Pokémon and ran.

Meanwhile, in a different part of the Cerulean Cave, Blaine fell down after being electrocuted by Petrel's Electabuzz, falling next to his unconscious Magmar. Though the Magmar had knocked out all of Petrel's five Rocket Grunts, it had lost to Petrel's Electabuzz. Petrel himself was badly singed, but nonetheless approached with a mad gleam in his eyes.

"For the last time, Blaine," Petrel snarled. "Where… is…"

But that's as far as he got. Like Shane, Blaine saw something pink flying by before suddenly disappearing along with his Magmar. Petrel stared at the spot where Blaine had just been, then looked up just in time to see the cave's ceiling collapsing on him.

* * *

**Next up**: "Johto Awaits"**, that will be posted tomorrow!**


	8. Johto Awaits

**CHAPTER EIGHT: **_**JOHTO AWAITS!**_

When Shane finally woke up, he instantly pinched himself, then came to the conclusion that he wasn't dead. He was in a big, comfy bed, with Shrew sitting on his belly. The Master Ball rested safely on a nearby table while two men sat by his bedside. The other one was Blaine, whose bald head was wrapped in a bandage and whose lab coat was torn from several places. The other one was, to Shane's surprise, Mr. Fuji, the old, kind-looking man he had met in Celadon City.

"How are ya, kid?" Blaine asked, and his tone wasn't as gruff as it usually was. "I just woke up myself…"

Shane blinked and looked around him, seeing pictures of several Pokémon on the walls. Even the wallpaper had pictures of Pokémon in it.

"You're in the Lavender Volunteer Pokémon House," Mr. Fuji explained, smiled at Shane and gave him a cup of hot cocoa. "Quite a coincidence, actually… I remember your Sandshrew well. Even if my friend Blaine here doesn't realize it, he's the one who gave it to the house after finding it."

Blaine shook his head, but smiled nevertheless. "I can't believe you actually remember these things… or that you even know it's the same Sandshrew," he said. "That critter has gone through some rough things, I can tell you…"

Shane was somewhat interested, though he had a splitting headache and Blaine's and Fuji's voices sounded oddly distant. "Uh, what kind of-"

"How on earth did you rescue us?" Blaine asked Fuji, staring at him in confusion. "I mean, for a second there, my life flashed before my eyes. Didn't like it much – confusing scenes, plot holes, and the main character was all ugly and bald…"

"Oh, I didn't rescue you," Fuji said, still smiling and giving a cup of cocoa to Blaine as well. "I found you just outside my house an hour ago. I have no idea how you got there, but I nursed you back to health and… well, here we are. However," Fuji added and looked at the Master Ball, "I understand from that shouting you did when you woke up that you were in the Cerulean Cave?"

Blaine nodded solemnly. "It's there, Fuji," he grunted, also staring at the ball.

Then, he turned to Shane and patted him on the shoulder enthusiastically, not noticing the fact that it was hurting Shane quite a lot.

"I still can't believe you did it, kid!" Blaine said joyously. "You captured Mewtwo! I hunted it for four years, and you found it in two weeks! I… well, _we_, will always owe you!"

"Yeah…" Shane muttered, the realization of what he'd done finally hitting him. He captured Mewtwo, confronted Giovanni and lived to tell about it. He turned to look at Fuji and Blaine with enthusiasm. "So, what's my reward?" he asked. "I take cash, though Pokémon cards are good, too, if either of you have a green Pikachu card. Or you could mention this to the Legendary Pokémon Society! Man, they would totally take me in after this!"

"I'd prefer," Fuji said with a smile, "if you didn't spread this story around. Only the three of us know exactly what happened, and I wish it could stay that way…"

"Fuji's right!" Blaine grunted and patted Shane on the shoulder one last time before getting up. "You can't trust anyone! In fact, we should probably place you under house arrest, but… well, you did a good job, so consider this your reward!"

Blaine and Fuji both walked out of the room, happily chattering along the way. Blaine was completely different than before: he smiled and even laughed while talking to Fuji, barely letting the old man speak out.

"I can't believe it's finally over," Blaine said with audible relief. "So, what are we going to do with the Mewtwo? We can't just keep it inside the ball forever."

"Of course not!" Fuji laughed. "One of my volunteers is a real wizard in technology. He has repaired a Transfer Machine for us. We'll send it to northern Fiore… plenty of mountains, few people, natural beauty… it won't be disturbed, and hopefully this experience has mellowed it out a bit so it won't attack any unfortunate mountain climbers either…"

Fuji walked out of the room surprisingly quickly for a 90-year old man. Blaine followed him as fast as he could, walking with a slight limp. Still, the injuries he suffered at the cave (including more second-degree burns on his hands) didn't seem to ruin his good mood.

Making sure Blaine and Fuji had walked upstairs, Shane turned to look at the Master Ball. Placed on the table, it looked so innocent… yet it contained the most powerful Pokémon in the world. How long would it take for Fuji and Blaine to notice it was gone? And even if they did notice, what could they do to stop him? _He's_ the one who caught Mewtwo…

But then Shane remembered what Giovanni had said. '_You have no hope of controlling it_'. And even though it was created for Giovanni, to be his loyal slave, it still escaped. If someone like Giovanni couldn't tell it what to do, how could Shane do it?

_Well... only one way to find out…_

Slowly, Shane reached out for the Master Ball, as if he was struggling against his own hand. It was only an inch away from his fingers… Shrew could only stare at him wide-eyed, unsure of what to do…

But just as Shane was about to grab the ball, he heard Blaine's rasping laughter from upstairs. He hadn't forgotten what Blaine had told him before, how he and Fuji were best friends and how Fuji's son was killed by the Mewtwo… and how Blaine had placed his trust in him.

_Aww, bollocks! Being the good guy sucks…_

As much as it pained him, Shane left the Master Ball alone. He quickly got out of the bed, fully clothed and everything. He hadn't suffered any injuries, but was certain that his Pokémon needed some treatment. Letting Shrew climb on his shoulders, Shane sneaked out of the Volunteer House and walked into the darkness.

If Lavender Town had been creepy the last time Shane visited it, it was downright unbearable in the middle of the night. There were few streetlights, and no lights were on in any of the houses. The moon and the stars were the only sources of light, and even then the seven-story high Pokémon Tower left most of the town in its shadow. The cries of Hoothoot and Zubat didn't go unnoticed by Shane either, so the decision to leave the town was easy.

Shane headed towards Route 7 and walked to the west, but had absolutely no idea where he was heading. His mind was still blown by the events of the cave, making it hard to believe it was only an hour ago. It was still hard to realize: _he had caught Mewtwo_! And yet, there was no way to prove it – the Legendary Pokémon Society probably needed something bigger anyway. Maybe he should ask Blaine to create another, bigger and even more dangerous Pokémon and set it loose so Shane could capture it in front of an audience… though this carried a much higher risk of someone getting hurt. More importantly, it carried the risk of Shane himself getting hurt, so he decided to bury the idea.

As he walked along the path of Route 7 in the darkness, Shane tried his best to ignore the various Pokémon cries and the rustling coming from the trees, which looked like gigantic, skeletal hands in the moonlight. Shane couldn't help but to wonder how he get out of trouble this time. The Cerulean Cave had collapsed – had he mastered the art of teleportation without even knowing it? And somehow his amazing subconscious had also teleported Blaine with him? Shane stopped and closed his eyes, concentrating on trying to teleport back to Viridian City… but failed, ended up looking more like he suffered from painful constipation.

_Okay, so I can't teleport… yet_.

And had he really encountered Giovanni? It all seemed like a dream… no one had seen Giovanni in three years. Was it really likely that he had decided to arrive just now? Petrel and the Rockets didn't seem to know anything about Giovanni's presence.

_Unless he was a ghost or something_…

Shane shuddered at the thought. Even if he wasn't a ghost, he most likely was one now. The last thing Shane remembered before disappearing from the cave was the ceiling collapsing. Considering how deep underground they had been, there was no way Giovanni had survived. If he was even there, that was… and what was with that weird pink flash he had seen?

_And most importantly_, Shane thought as he stopped to look around, _where the hell am I_?

Shane looked around him, but saw only wilderness. No signs, no lamps, no houses… just trees, grass and the sky above him. Shane though about using his Pokémon… but they were resting in their Poké Balls, probably still unconscious after that battle with Mewtwo. Droid could bring him light and Zuba could navigate in the darkness, but Shane couldn't exactly kick them awake now… even Shrew, who was still unconscious, was breathing raspingly and it was covered in bruises, most likely in no fit to walk on its own.

Shane looked at the sky. Maybe he could find the North Star… except that he had never paid much attention in class when they had taught astronomy. Or was it astrology?

Shane squinted and kept staring at the sky. There was something odd there all right… not the North Star, but something moving, and glowing brighter than anything else. It was some kind of bird that emitted a bright, golden light, and it was flying towards west.

Unable to take his eyes off the creature, Shane started following it, not even realizing where he was walking. He walked for hours on end, not noticing that Shrew had fallen asleep on his shoulders, ignoring his hunger, thirst, exhaustion and the pain in his legs.

Finally, the bird disappeared from Shane's sights during sunrise, leading Shane to blinking and looking around him. He had walked all the way to Celadon City, and was standing right next to the Pokémon Center. Shane looked wildly around him and stared at the sky, but the golden glow of the bird was gone, and Shane was nearly blinded by the sun. Instead, there was a faint, but nonetheless visible rainbow on the sky, apparently ending right where the bid had disappeared. Only now did Shane realize his exhaustion, being on the verge of passing out, so he quickly walked inside the Pokémon Center.

An hour later, after receiving his four Pokémon back from the nurse and getting some food down his belly, Shane looked around the Pokémon Center. Apart from homeless people on the benches and some surprisingly spry early-morning trainers, the Center was mostly empty. Shane's attention was attracted to a purple-suited man near the bookshelf, pretending to look for Pokémon-related magazines, but in reality, he just wanted to stand where everyone could see him.

"Eusine!" Shane yelled and walked to the guy. "Hey, Eusine, it's me, Shane!"

Eusine slowly turned to look at Shane, then put on an unconvincing surprised appearance as he walked to greet Shane.

"Thane, my boy!" Eusine said dramatically. "What brings you to my fine hometown this early in-"

"I need to talk to you," Shane interrupted quickly.

Desperate to let it all out, to have someone hear his story, Shane told about the glowing, humongous bird he saw on the sky. Surprisingly enough, Eusine didn't say a word as he listened to Shane, merely nodded a few times while standing on his toes so he could look down at Shane.

"Well, Payne," Eusine said when Shane finally finished his story. "I _do_ happen to be the 'scholar' of the Legendary Pokémon Society, so of course I know what you were talking about. Hold on a bit…"

Eusine took a thick, time-worn book from one of the many pockets in his ridiculous, white cape. Shane noticed that it was titled '_The myths and legends of Pokémonology_' It only took him a split-second to find the right page and shove the book to Shane. A compete page was dedicated to a painting of a majestic bird Pokémon with red and golden feathers and a long neck. The caption explained that it was an artist's impression of something called…

"Ho-Oh," Eusine said, starting to quote the book without even reading from it, "the Rainbow Pokémon, a legendary creature that flies the world's skies continuously, in search of a pure-hearted person. Legends say that after a Pokémon called Rayquaza created the sky, Ho-Oh was said to become its guardian. Every time you see a rainbow, you are reminded of Ho-Oh's gift to humans and Pokémon alike. Those who see it are said to receive…"

"…a lifetime of happiness," Shane finished, reading from the book, but to himself instead of Eusine.

"Yeah, but _you_ couldn't have seen it," Eusine said arrogantly. "I mean, first Suicune, now Ho-Oh… what's next? You saw Kyurem in the bushes around your backyard?"

"Maybe," Shane shrugged. "Does Kyurem resemble a dude in a long coat but with no pants?"

"What you saw was just a weather balloon or something, but if you _really_ wish to see Ho-Oh," Eusine continued, talking loud enough for everyone in the Center to hear, "I recommend you visit the Bell Tower. It's in Ecruteak City, Johto. That place also happens to be where our magnificent Legendary Pokémon Society gathers annually. It's like our lair or something… no, wait, villains have lairs… it's our base of operations then?"

"Ecruteak City…" Shane mumbled with glazed eyes. "Base of operations… Bell Tower…"

He blinked and turned to Eusine, trying to return '_The myths and legends of Pokémonology_' to him.

"All I know about Johto is that it's far away," Shane told Eusine. "I don't really think I can just walk there…"

"Of course not," Eusine said, reaching to pull something else from his numerous pockets. "You'll be needing… this!"

Eusine gave Shane a laminated, cyan card with the words 'Magnet Train – Rail Pass' on it. Shane looked at Eusine in confusion, but Eusine just smiled.

"Keep it, it ain't mine," Eusine said. "Funny story… this little blonde guy, even smaller than you, Rayne, dropped it right here in Celadon City. He had disappeared before I got the chance to return it to him. What a shame," he sighed, shaking his head. "Maybe I should buy the Magnet Train and make it free for everyone… oh, and keep the book as well! I've already memorized it."

Shane smiled and tried to shake hands with Eusine, who looked rather reluctant, but allowed Shane to squeeze his index finger – he hadn't even taken his glove off.

"Thanks, Eusine!" Shane said. "That was downright decent of you!"

"Yes, well," Eusine said while wiping his finger with a napkin. He tried to sound modest, but the effect was ruined by the smug smile on his face. "Just helping a fellow traveler on the path of… justice… or was it glory? Well, just helping a fellow out. Farewell, Shawn! Keep reaching for the rainbow!"

And with that, Eusine exited dramatically. At the doorstep, he stopped and looked around, as if waiting for a swarm of fans to arrive, then continued walking with a disappointed look on his face. Shane stuffed the book and the rail pass to his already stuffed backpack and ran out of the Pokémon Center.

But at the door, he collided with another familiar man – Shane instantly recognized the burglar's outfit, messy stubble and the raspy voice:

"_You_!"

Shane gulped and retreated a bit, but after facing Mewtwo and Giovanni, having to confront a washed-up freelance criminal who smelled like unemployment and was now pointing at him, staggering and his eyes bulging, was not particularly scary.

"Oh, hi Miguel," Shane said and tried to avoid breathing in. "Could you step aside? You're blocking my way."

"I heard your conversation!" Miguel slurred as his spit flew all over Shane. "You're going to Johto aren't you? Just so you know… my cousin is a member of Team Rocket's inner circle over there, and he's gonna make you pay for what you did!"

"So… what did I do?" Shane asked and laughed. "I mean, c'mon… 'ooh, Team Rocket's inner circle is after me, someone save me from this horror'! Hah! If they're anything like Mr. 'I-wanna-be-a-fashion-designer-Petrel', then I wouldn't worry too much. I'll tell your cousin, hi!"

Moving his way past Miguel, Shane left, still laughing at his perceived wittiness. Miguel didn't even try to stop him, nor did he follow him. He simply stared after Shane, grinning maliciously.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Magnet Train, Saffron City, Kanto**_

As it was only 6:30 in the morning, Shane was the only passenger aboard this sleek, white train propelled by a magnetic field. Trains left from Saffron to Goldenrod every hour, and according to the drowsy guard at the station, Ecruteak was a mere stone's throw away from Goldenrod. Shane made a note on his journal to start looking for stones to throw as soon as he arrived, though he failed to understand how that'd help him get to his destination.

All of Shane's Pokémon were out of their balls. Zuba, his Golbat, flew to the ceiling and was now hanging upside down and had wrapped its wings around its body to get some sleep. It was disturbed by Swirly, Shane's Poliwhirl, who kept practicing battle techniques on the train's seats, soaking them with water and then wrecking them to pieces with one swift punch. Droid, Shane's Magneton, was merely floating around peacefully, its three eyes observing the train. And on the seat next to Shane was Shrew – his plump little Sandshrew that was frightened by its own shadow. Shrew still hadn't quite recovered from its battle with Mewtwo, so it had fallen asleep a few minutes after Shane had let it out. Shane watched the sleeping Pokémon and couldn't help but to smile – after all of its cowardice, it stood against the scariest Pokémon Shane had ever seen. Shane also hadn't forgotten how it tried to defend him against Giovanni's Pokémon.

Shane felt a slight twitch as the train started moving, but for something that moved 330 miles per hour, the train ran surprisingly smoothly. Shane looked out of the window to give his farewell to his home region, but the cities and forests all became a green and gray blur as the Magnet Train rode past them – within minutes, the train had reached the wilderness between Kanto and Johto.

His encounters with Leaf, Blaine, Miguel, Timmy, Eusine and even Team Rocket felt like a thing of the past. Instead, Shane focused his thought prowess on Ecruteak City, Ho-Oh, Bell Tower and joining the Legendary Pokémon Society. Relaxing in his seat, Shane was amused by fantasies of himself wearing a cape just like Lance's, riding around with a humongous Sandshrew with wings and using an oversized butterfly net to catch a Ho-Oh…

But there was one thing that stopped him from falling asleep. Checking the time, Shane realized that the train would take another 23 minutes to arrive in Goldenrod – and that he had consumed four cans of Soda Pop while waiting for the train.

_This journey did not start well…_


	9. New Bark Town

**CHAPTER NINE: **_**NEW BARK TOWN**_

_**Location: Kris' house, New Bark Town, Johto**_

Today was a special day for Kris. Sure, it was something that millions, if not billions of people before her had experienced. Sure, she was very ill-prepared for her upcoming journey. Sure, she was eighteen years old with no money and her only mode of transportation were a pair of broken sneakers. But getting her first Pokémon would be a glorious occasion, damn it!

The cold, damp basement that served as Kris' bedroom had already been stripped of everything that was important to Kris, who knew her parents would sell them the moment she stepped out of the house. Unfortunately, there was no room in her backpack for her various books and movies, not to mention the various posters of Suicune she had, all of them displaying the legendary beast in various poses, some of them including lots of sparkling. There were also posters of various famous Pokémon trainers, including Morty, Lance and Cynthia. Placed prominently over her TV set was a poster of the three Johto starters: Chikorita, Cyndaquil and Totodile.

Since '_Sue the Master Trainer_'-books always advised going for the fire-type, Kris had decided the same. Then again, the books also had the titular character wrestling with legendary Pokémon and being drooled after by anyone with a Y-chromosome, so Kris took the books with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, she put one of them in her backpack, hoping to get some advice on Pokémon training.

Kris liked to think that she was no rookie in that field, although she had never actually battled anyone before. To stop her parents' grumbling about Kris being a "leech", she managed to get a temporary job as a research assistant of Professor Elm, Johto's regional professor whose lab was only a few minutes' walk away from Kris' house. This 'assistant' work mostly included cataloguing the behavior of Pokémon on the outskirts of town, which was as boring as it sounded – one of the more memorable incidents involved running away from a rabid Sentret, but mostly her work had consisted of making notes of boring everyday Pokémon like Pidgey and Rattata and organizing the hundreds of books Elm owned. Aside from this, Kris had also soaked up on Pokémon knowledge by watching tournaments on the TV – the Indigo League Tournament had just ended a few days ago, but Kris didn't mind missing it, as she had her sights on something bigger.

Every five years, the Pokémon League organized a tournament called the Silver Conference. Once held exclusively to elite trainers on Mt. Silver, the conference would be held in the Indigo Plateau this time, and was available to everyone who had at least eight badges from any region. Unfortunately for Kris, she only had a month to achieve this, as she had been forced to delay the start of her journey many times – Elm had received a new batch of starter Pokémon several times, but usually either some rich kid's parents had threatened to have Elm fired unless he gave a starter to their kid, or Elm had lost the paperwork and had been forced to return the Pokémon to their breeding centers.

Climbing the stairs to reach the backdoor of the house, Kris stopped to look at her reflection in the mirror. She wasn't really sure if she was dressed for the occasion: she wore a dingy old red top, slightly tattered jeans and a blue denim jacket with overly long sleeves that constantly got in the way. Her black hair was all frizzy and probably dirty, and she looked even paler and sicklier than ever after spending last night worrying about her upcoming journey. Nonetheless, she was forced to shrug this off, as she would be late otherwise.

Of course, as soon as Kris left the house, she had to return as she had forgotten her backpack. Then she had return again to see if she really had a zit on her chin or was it just a crumb of food. Then, finally, when she heard her mother's disgruntled yelling from upstairs, Kris was ready to leave for good.

Walking along the empty streets of New Bark Town, Kris couldn't help but to sigh in relief. She preferred the town either early in the morning, like right now, or late at night, when there weren't any annoying people about. They said that New Bark Town was a "town where the wind blows and tells of impending change", though Kris only agreed that the town "blows". She hated almost everyone there, especially her old classmates Lyra Soul and Ethan Gold as well as her parents. Though Kris tried to forget everything related to school, she couldn't exactly forget her parents, who she had to see every day. Her mom's ambitions in life seemed to revolve around gaining weight around the house, watching soap operas and yelling at Kris while her dad seemed to be committed to never being around the house and sober at the same time. All the more reason why Kris had been anticipating the journey…

But now, a few minutes before seven in the morning, New Bark Town looked rather nice as it bathed in sunlight. It was a small place – describing it as a "village" would be more accurate. It had a number of neat, middle-class houses and clean gardens, Kris' house being only one among them. Apart from some windmills and farms as well as Professor Elm's laboratory, the town had nothing, as the nearest services (including schools, shops and the hospital) were in the neighboring city of Cherrygrove, to the west. Happy to get out of New Bark, Kris practically skipped her way to Elm's lab, a spacious, wooden, two-story building next to the windmills. Elm and his family used to live in the second floor of the lab, though from what Kris heard, Elm's wife and daughter moved to Blackthorn City a few weeks back.

"Morning, Professor Elm!" Kris said cheerfully as she stepped into the lab.

Elm, a tall, thin, nervous-looking man with thinning brown hair and glasses, dropped all of his notes in shock when Kris stepped in. Kris noticed that this was one of the days Elm had worn his lab coat inside out. Though Elm was only in his early thirties, he was always stressed, as besides his regular assistant and Kris, he had no aides or underlings.

"Oh, uh, morning, Kris," Elm said apologetically as he picked up his notes and adjusted his glasses. "Sorry about this, haven't had my coffee yet and my assistant hasn't come to work yet… uh, yes, today's the day isn't it? Have you, um, chosen the Pokémon you want yet?"

Elm and Kris walked to the back of the lab, where there was a wooden table next to Elm's Pokémon healing machine. On the table, there was a computer that was half-buried by Elm's various papers stacked in messy piles. Between all the junk were two Poké Balls, which Kris kept staring at as she answered to Elm.

"Yes I have, professor," she said. "Give me a Cyndaquil, please, so I can get the hell out!"

"Ah… Cyndaquil, yes, uh…" Elm wringed his hands and avoided eye contact with Kris. "Well, you see, you may have noticed that I only have two Pokémon here instead of three. That's because, um, the breeding center made a slight mistake… well, all right, _I _made a slight mistake and accidentally ordered four Pokémon, two of them Cyndaquil. So, I, um, gave them both to your, um, friends, Lyra and Ethan… just last week, actually."

Elm removed his glasses and started cleaning them with a napkin so he wouldn't have to look at Kris, who grimaced when she heard Elm refer to Lyra and Ethan as Kris' 'friends'. Once again, the two were ahead of Kris and had ruined her plans… no doubt they were traveling together, laughing and having practice battles, comparing which Cyndaquil had the bigger… snout.

"Fine, then give me a Chikorita," Kris sighed. "It's kinda cute, so maybe someone can trade it to something strong… like a Heracross! Or a Scizor, those are cool!"

Elm looked embarrassed again. "Well, thing is, um," he stuttered. "The Chikorita… well, you see, the Morimoto family came around yesterday… wanted to make sure their daughter got the Chikorita… highly influential… their daughter is starting out next week… probably should have mentioned that…"

Elm's voice faded and he suddenly started organizing his papers. Kris sighed again; Elm was probably the only person in New Bark Town she could tolerate, but she had to admit that the guy was an annoying scatterbrain sometimes.

"Well gimme the Totodile then," Kris said coldly. "I have to get moving."

"Yes, right you are," Elm said and took the Poké Ball marked with a blue 'T' from the desk and handed it to Kris. "Here you go. Good luck on your journey of… um, what was it that you were doing again?"

"I need to get to the Silver Conference," Kris said and took the Poké Ball. "That means I have to get the eight badges of Johto within a month. Also… you heard about that Suicune thing in Sinnoh, right?"

"Oh, yes," Elm said solemnly. "Terrible tragedy…"

"Yeah, well, I don't think Suicune did it at all!" Kris said firmly. "Maybe it's in someone's best interests to create discord between humans and Pokémon. Like, it could be some kind of government conspiracy… thing! I can't explain it properly, but I know Suicune is innocent and I'm going to prove it!"

"Well, good luck," Elm said, clearly just humoring Kris. "Um, why don't you let your new Totodile out for a stroll?"

Kris shrugged and opened the Poké Ball.

She regretted this act a second later when something blue and reptilian came out and immediately sank its teeth into her leg. The Totodile didn't mean to hurt, though, but this didn't stop Kris from yelling out in pain. She tried to kick the Totodile, but it dodged her leg and started dancing around the lab, as if it had been trapped in the ball for ages.

"It's, um, quite a wild one," Elm said and climbed on his desk to make sure the Totodile couldn't see his delicious ankles.

Kris stared in utter disbelief as the Totodile danced around the lab and whacked fragile objects with its tail. "You don't say," she grumbled. "Okay, Totodile, stop for a minute! You're getting back into the ball!"

But the Totodile just kept on dancing and hopping around. When it came across a pile of papers on the floor, it immediately shredded them with its teeth. Elm groaned.

"I was just going to organize them…" he said. "…yesterday."

"Totodile, stop!" Kris yelled, but again to no avail.

"Oh, um, its name is Croc," Elm said. "Forgot to mention that… the folks at the breeding center often nicknamed their Pokémon, and now they won't obey any other names…"

"Croc, stop!"

But the Totodile ignored Kris' cries. It finally stopped dancing to chew on a chair leg, allowing Kris to jump on the Pokémon, pin it to the floor and return it to the Poké Ball.

"…or, in some cases, at all," Elm said, still sitting on the table.

Kris looked out of the window and barely managed to stop herself from screaming in frustration. Her hated rivals had started their adventures a week earlier with the Pokémon that Kris wanted, she had little money and no proper equipment to survive on the field and her Pokémon was disobedient, silly and had a stupid nickname.

Looking out of the window, Kris squinted as she noticed a flash of red hair outside the lab. But as she blinked, it disappeared. Kris shook her head.

_Must be the stress of doing nothing or something…_

"Croc…" Kris grumbled as she exited the lab. "What kind of name is that? Who nicknames their Pokémon anyway?"

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Magnet Train, around Route 46, Johto**_

Shane woke up as the Magnet Train came to an abrupt stop. The train was supposed to arrive to Goldenrod at 7 AM sharp and it was only 6:55. Moreover, there was nothing but wilderness around them. Shrew woke up too, while is other Pokémon, Golbat, Poliwhirl and Magneton had all gathered around the window, trying to see what was going on.

"_**Attention, passengers, we have encountered an obstacle on the tracks. The staff is doing their utmost to solve this issue. We apologize for any inconvenience.**_"

Shane was the only passenger on the train, besides his Pokémon, and the staff was composed of two people, making Shane wonder why they hadn't asked him for help. Then again, the conductor's neck was about as thick as Shane's torso, but he could have been a supervisor or something. Either way, since clearing the obstacle could take a while, Shane stretched his limbs and stepped outside for some fresh air, his Pokémon following closely behind. He took his backpack with him, as he couldn't dare to leave his scrapbook behind.

The Magnet Train's tracks were elevated fifty feet above the ground, and the tracks were so narrow that Shane barely had room to stand. Nonetheless, he saw the obstacle: a Miltank had somehow climbed onto the tracks, which in itself seemed rather impossible, but furthermore, this Miltank seemed oddly flat and two-dimensional. The two conductors were observing the Miltank, scratching their heads and shrugging. Shane pulled out his journal.

_Shane's log, Day 39: "Your hero and his entourage of dastardly Pokémon have finally arrived to Johto… I think. There are lots of trees around here, and a carrot-shaped cloud is drifting above me, so I gotta check the map for those. Apparently, Johto is inhabited by a rare breed of Miltank made out of cardboard. I must try to catch one and-_"

But just then, the automatic doors of the Magnet Train closed behind him, causing Shane to flinch, drop his pencil and lose his balance. Shrew and Poliwhirl tried to grab him, but Shane slipped past their fingers and fell off the tracks.

Shane's Golbat immediately dove after him and grabbed Shane's leg with its mouth, but even Shane's weight was too much for Golbat to handle. As calmly and coolly as ever, Magneton floated after Shane. It aimed Shane with one of its magnets, and suddenly Shane was outlined by a yellow glow. Golbat let go off Shane, who slowly floated to the ground, Golbat and Magneton landing next to him. Meanwhile, Shrew had climbed on Poliwhirl's shoulders and Poliwhirl had started climbing down. Soon enough, the two Pokémon landed safely next to Shane, who was still gasping for air.

"Thanks guys," he panted and looked up. "I don't think we're gonna make it to the train anymore, unless… Droid, you still have any juice?"

Magneton responded by blinking two of its eyes, then it crashed on the ground and fell asleep. Golbat and Poliwhirl looked equally exhausted, while Shrew was shivering in fear behind Poliwhirl, so Shane decided to recall all four of them.

Before Shane could go anywhere, however, he heard whispering from he bushes nearby. Peeking through them, Shane saw a man surrounded by Pokémon, doing something to the bottom of a pillar supporting the rail bridge. His Beedrill handed him some sort of remote controller, and as his Weepinbell and Ditto moved out of the way, Shane noticed that the man was tall, brawny and clad in full Team Rocket uniform, including, for some reason, a domino mask. Shane couldn't help but to notice that the man's big, black moustache was the biggest Shane had seen.

"Detonation in five," the man mumbled as his Pokémon scurried to safety. "Four… three… two…"

"Hi!" Shane said loudly as he took a step towards the man, causing him to drop is remote. "Sorry for bothering ya, but is Ecruteak City far from here?"

The man quickly stood up and pointed at Shane in a dramatic fashion.

"You!" he shouted. "Have you come to stop the great Fernando in his endeavors?"

"Um… no, I guess," Shane shrugged. "Who's Fernando?"

"Why, I'm glad you asked," the man said and started jumping around and flexing his arms around, doing some kind of weird Power Ranger dance. "Because he…" he paused and looked at what he believed to be an invisible camera. "…is me!"

"Um, okay," Shane said, "but-"

"Of course you are asking," Fernando interrupted, "'oh, great, handsome Fernando, what fiendish scheme are you up to this time?' And, as Plato before me, I shall reply with-"

"Look, I don't know anything about football," Shane snapped. "Just tell me where Ecruteak City is, you schmuck!"

Fernando gasped in fake shock. "You dare?" he whispered dramatically. "Don't you know who I work for? Or does the 'R' on my shirt look a little pale?" he asked with concern, dropping his dramatics for a while.

"No, it looks fine," Shane said impatiently. "It suits you well."

"Really? Thanks!" Fernando smiled and quickly resumed his previous persona. "For your information, whelp, _I_ am a member of Team Rocket's inner circle! When our organization numbers in the millions, we shall walk over this earth and reclaim it from the liars, politicians, greedy tycoons, appeasers, warlords, diplomats and especially…" he paused again. "…_telemarketers_… I hate them so much…"

Fernando turned to the rail bridge again, revealing the explosives he had stuffed at the foot of the bridge. "As you can see, my brilliant diversion has been a success," Fernando proclaimed. "When I blow up the train, the bridge and everyone in it, Kanto and Johto will be separated forever! Chaos will ensue when candy shops in Kanto run out of Ragecandybars and the world shall drown in a sea of blood!"

"But before that," Fernando said and slowly turned towards Shane. "You must d-"

But during Fernando's rambling, Shane had already left. Fernando looked confuse for a while, but shrugged it off.

"Ah, I seemed to have destroyed him with my powerful enunciation alone!" he said boisterously. "Now, we shall deal with the bridge… DETONATION!"

Fernando pressed a button on his remote controller… and nothing happened. In panic, he started fiddling with the wires on his explosives, while a distant rumbling told him that the train had already left.

_**Location: Route 29, Kanto**_

Walking along the previous route towards what Shane believed to be south, Shane eventually arrived to Route 29, the road splitting towards east and west. Once again stumped with no idea where to go, Shane wondered if the tried-and-true tactic of panicking and running around wildly would work.

But just then, he saw someone to ask advice from: a short, skinny, black-haired girl. With her bad posture and disregard for her clothing, she would have slipped under someone else's radar, but Shane was immediately interested in her. He didn't even notice that he was running when he started approaching the girl.

"Ahoy there!" Shane yelled at her.

_Ahoy there… what am I, a sailor?_ Shane thought, but brushed this aside.

The girl stopped, glaring at Shane and ignoring all politeness:

"What do you want?" she snapped. "I'm kind of busy here!"

"Oh, yes, of course," Shane babbled. "I just thought… you know, since I'm new here… I was looking for… um, well, maybe we should introduce ourselves first."

"Maybe," the girl said and folded her arms.

"Uh… right," Shane said and felt sweaty for some reason. "I'm, uh… Shane! From Viridian City! It's in Kanto. I'm, uh… well, I don't know what I am, but I have Pokémon. See?"

Shane lifted his shirt rather carelessly to show the girl the four Poké Balls on his belt. She raised her eyebrows at this grotesque display.

"Kris," the girl said simply and didn't bother to shake hands with Shane. "Now, anything else you need?"

"Uh, nothing else, but… are you a Pokémon trainer?" Shane asked suddenly.

Shane didn't think his question was that odd, but somehow this caught Kris off guard. She unfolded her arms, blinked in confusion and looked away from Shane.

"I, um…"

"Well, it's a pretty simple question," Shane said. "I mean, I am… I guess. I do have Pokémon. And I _train_ them. I don't battle very often, though, and I don't have any… wait, you don't know me! Oh, I have hundreds of badges. Maybe thousands. I just left them at the… badge… polishing… place."

"Okay, sure, I am a trainer," Kris said uncertainly and shrugged. "What about it?"

"Um… our eyes met, I think," Shane said and tried to look into Kris' blue eyes, although she kept turning away, wondering why Shane was making creepy expressions. "So… well, I'm no rule-enthusiast, but I suppose this means we have to battle."

"We don't _have_ to battle," Kris corrected, "and I don't know about you, but I don't think making eye contact with creepy strangers has to be an invitation to anything."

Shane stared at Kris, trying to figure out what she meant by that. Kris stared back, but eventually gave in.

"Fine," she groaned. "Let's have a battle!"

Shane grinned, and grabbed Shrew's Poké Ball from his belt, although carefully, as he remembered having accidentally snapped one belt in half before, and he didn't wish to expose himself in front of Kris. He tossed the Poké Ball on the ground, and his Sandshrew came out, peppy and ready for action.

"Croc, go!" Kris yelled, though somewhat shakily.

The Pokémon that Kris sent out was something Shane had only seen in his cards: Totodile, a small, blue bipedal crocodile with extremely sharp teeth that started hopping around wildly the moment it came out of its ball. Shrew tilted its head to the side as it watched the Totodile's overenthusiasm.

"Okay, Shrew, let's start with… Slash!" Shane ordered.

Shrew nodded and lunged towards the Totodile, who didn't even seem to notice there was a battle going on.

"Croc, dodge!" Kris yelled.

But the Totodile ignored her words right until Shrew slashed it across the face with its small but incredibly sharp claws. As if it had noticed Shrew for the first time, the Totodile stopped dancing and glared at Shrew.

"Okay, Croc," Kris sighed, "Sandshrew's a Ground-type, so… Water Gun!"

"Shrew, Defense Curl!" Shane yelled quickly.

Totodile finally seemed to listen to Kris, although its water gun attack was the weakest Shane had seen. Shrew curled into a ball, effectively protecting it from the stream of water.

"I always wanted to try this… Rollout!" Shane ordered with growing enthusiasm.

Shrew started spinning, still curled into a spherical shape, and with the Defense Curl boosting its power, Shrew's Rollout attack hit Totodile right in the jaw, knocking it out.

When her Totodile fell on the ground, Kris recalled it with a completely blank look on her face. Then, to Shane's confusion, Kris slumped on the ground with empty eyes, looking so pathetic that Shane couldn't even laugh at her.

"Oh, hey, come on now," Shane said as he recalled Shrew. "I mean, it's not that big of a deal to lose to me, I mean, I _do_ have a thousand badges so a newbie like you couldn't possibly… I mean, you did all right, and… um… hey, can you tell me-"

Shane was interrupted by a ringing sound. As he looked wildly around him, like he was expecting a huge telephone-shaped Pokémon to attack, Kris rolled her eyes and took her PokéGear from her pocket, answering the call.

"What is it professor?" she sighed. "Uh huh. Okay. Where? Fine, I'm on my way…"

Kris hung up, got up so quickly that it startled Shane and started walking away, towards west. Shane ran after her.

"Uh, like I was saying," Shane said quickly, trying to keep up with Kris as she strode forward with surprisingly long steps. "I'm just your humble everyday trainer or something to that effect and I'm trying to get to… well, let's start with you! Where are you going?"

"None of your business," Kris said tensely.

Shane laughed. "True, true, I can be a bit too nosy sometimes, so, uh, you don't have to answer," he said and almost tripped on a rock when Kris just seemed to walk faster and faster. "But hey, I mean, I didn't mean where are you going _right now_, but you know, in… in life…"

Kris stopped so abruptly that Shane almost fell over again. She turned to face Shane with an outright murderous look on her face, prompting Shane to take a few steps backwards.

"Stop following me," Kris snarled. "Just… go bother someone else, Shane, or whatever your name was…"

Kris strode forward again, but Shane was undeterred. In fact, he looked happier than ever.

"Wow, you remembered!" he said, badly out of breath from having to keep up with Kris. "I mean, no one ever remembers…"

Kris lamented the fact that she had chosen this day to leave town.

"Why are you following me?" she asked Shane. "I mean, if you really wanna know, I need to get to the Silver Conference! To do that, I need to get…"

"…eight badges, right," Shane interrupted. "I mean, sorry, it's just that I watched the conference on TV five years ago. But I've never met anyone who took part in it!"

"Yeah, well, I probably won't," Kris grumbled, looking at the ground as she walked. "My Pokémon is a disobedient jerk who didn't even win some random idiot even though it had a type advantage…"

"Wow, you fought some random idiot before me?" Shane asked. "So you must be an experienced battler, then. Of course, I am too… oh, forget it, okay, I lied, I have zero badges. In fact, that battle just now was the first one I ever actually won!"

"I'm shocked," Kris deadpanned. "But the point is, I need to get to the Silver Conference, regardless of how much I suck, and I can't exactly do it with you hanging onto me like some kind of wart!"

"Yeah, but, if you're going to try and earn badges," Shane panted and tried to ignore the splitting pain on his side, "then you must be going to Ecruteak City at some point! And, well, I haven't been in Johto before and I'm going there to, uh, see my relatives but I got lost and fell off the train and… long story short, can you show me the way?"

Kris laughed coldly, scaring off a group of Sentret nearby.

"Forget it," she said, still striding forward. "It'll take us a week, maybe even more, to get there on foot, and I'm in a hurry. I don't have time to babysit you!"

"I don't need a babys… hey, are those berries edible?" Shane asked as he stopped to pick something small from the ground.

"Those aren't berr… or, whatever," Kris said and kept on walking.

"Well, while I traveled through Kanto, I had a few accidents…" Shane said.

"You just keep on surprising me."

"…and I admit that I could use the company of a strong trainer," Shane finished. "I mean, I don't do gym battles myself, but I could be your arms bearer! As long as it doesn't involve any actual bears…"

Kris stopped again and turned to look at Shane. She was frowning, but didn't look so angry anymore.

"Strong trainer?" she repeated in disbelief. "Didn't you see my spectacular failing in there? If all goes well, the Pokémon Academy in Violet City might at least take me back so I don't have starve to death under some bridge… I probably won't get farther than Cherrygrove, though…"

"I could help you!" Shane argued and was practically begging now. "Come on, just let me come with you! I mean, I'm not a coward or anything, but… scary things frighten me somewhat."

Kris seemed to be on the fence. On the other hand, this guy would most likely hinder her process more than help it – or in the worst case scenario, get her killed. But at least he had Pokémon with her, while the only thing Kris had was a bitchy, unconscious crocodile.

"Tell you what," Kris said to stop Shane's wide-eyed staring and dog-like begging. "Professor Elm asked me to see some dude who lives north from Cherrygrove City. After I've visited him, we'll get to Violet, where the nearest gym is. I'm dumping you there. The news talked about some roadblock or something, but if we're lucky, they've cleared it, so you can get to Ecruteak from Violet pretty quickly and we'll never have to see each other again. Deal?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Shane said, saluted and almost jumped into the air as he and Kris started walking towards Cherrygrove City. Unfortunately for Kris, Shane's overexcited babbling only got worse when Kris agreed to take him with her. "Now that we're friends and all, I should tell you something about battling, me being the expert on the subject of course. So, let's start listing all the stuff you did wrong, and boy, was there a lot of it! Okay, well, anyway, first of all, you should…."

Kris was regretting her decision already.

* * *

**All right, next chapter will be "The Thief, the Egg and the Rocket", which includes a confrontation with a red-haired stranger...**

**Also, my three-chapter Mewtwo fic "Life" will probably arrive at some point this week.  
**


	10. The Thief, the Egg and the Rocket

**CHAPTER TEN: **_**THE THIEF, THE EGG AND THE ROCKET**_

_**Location: Pokémon Center, Cherrygrove City, Johto**_

_Shane's log, Day 40: "Well, the little assignment Elm gave to Kris involved going to this guy who calls himself, creatively enough, Mr. Pokémon. He gave Kris an egg of some sort, but when I asked if anyone had any ketchup, Kris gave me a dirty look for some reason. Well, dirtier than usual. Then this Mr. Pokémon asked us to spend the night there, which me and Kris both agreed was a tad creepy, especially since he asked if we were 'legal' at first. Hey, I have never shoplifted before, although I did run into red lights with my bike this one time. So, we camped outside the man's house… or I did, at least, Kris only seemed to sleep for an hour, but she was up all night walking around Route 31 doing something, and she refused to tell me why. Weird chick. Anyway, we're going to New Bark Town now to show that egg to Elm… tell you the truth, I doubt Kris stands any chance in the conference and… aw, crap, she's coming here, I need to disguise this as a recipe. Two pounds of salt, teaspoon of cinnamon, three pounds butter, one kumquat…"_

"Ready to go?" Kris asked.

"Yeah," Shane said and hastily put his journal into his backpack. "Why did we have to stop here, anyway? You haven't used your Totodile in battle since our little match yesterday."

"Don't bother your brain with difficult questions like that," Kris muttered. "Let's just go and take the egg to the professor."

Kris was carrying the egg in her arms – it was dark blue, about fifteen inches, and supposedly had a baby Pokémon inside. Mr. Pokémon had raved about his discovery as if he was the first one to discover that Pokémon came from eggs. This discovery had shocked Shane and bored Kris, who nonetheless humored Mr. Pokémon by agreeing to take the egg to Elm.

But as Kris and Shane prepared to leave the Pokémon Center, their route was blocked by a boy who ran headfirst into the center and collided with Shane, flooring both of them. The guy who had crashed into Shane held his head and groaned – he was around the same age as Kris and Shane but several inches taller. He had long red hair which partly covered his piercing, silver-gray eyes. He was wearing a black jacket, purple plants and black gloves, even though it was 80 degrees outside.

Kris recognized the guy immediately. "Hey, hang on!" she said as the guy dusted himself and stood up. "I saw you outside Elm's lab yesterday!"

The red-haired boy just scowled at Kris – or at everyone, for that matter. He seemed to have a frown on his face no matter what.

"Yeah, I've seen you sneaking around before," Kris said slowly. "You're that kid, uh… Silver! You sneaked into the school when you were ten! Still kept the haircut, I see… and I mean literally, it's like you haven't cut anything off since then…"

Silver didn't respond – he was back on the floor on his knees, looking for something.

"Oh, you dropped this," Shane said politely, handing Silver a Poké Ball with a green 'C' written on it.

Silver snatched the Poké Ball from Shane without even looking at him and was about to storm off, but Kris shoved the egg into Shane's hands and grabbed Silver by his jacket.

"What?" Silver snapped, staring at Kris.

"Let me see that Poké Ball!" Kris demanded and tried to grab it from Silver, who kept it at arm's length. "You got that from Elm's lab, didn't you?"

"Hmph…"

Silver wriggled himself free from Kris' grip and held his head high, casually opening the Poké Ball marked with a 'C'. Out came a cute little pale green Pokémon with four stubby legs and a large leaf sticking out of its head. The Chikorita blinked its red eyes in confusion, probably out of the ball for the first time.

"I'm going to become the greatest Pokémon trainer in the world," Silver announced to Kris and Shane, though he mainly addressed Kris. "I have no time for weakness! Only those who dare to win by any means necessary can make it to the top. And I don't need lectures on Pokémon welfare! Goodbye!"

Silver kicked his Chikorita forward and quickly stomped out of the Pokémon Center. Kris and Shane just stared after him.

"What a jerk," Shane said finally.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Kris deadpanned.

"No problem, Madam Sarcasm," Shane replied. "Still, he was also kinda… cool. Good-looking, even. Y'know, in a jerk kind of way."

"Yeah, he was," Kris agreed. "By the way, if you tell anyone we had this conversation, I'm leaving your ass here. Now come on, we need to deliver this egg and keep moving!"

Kris walked out of the Pokémon Center and Shane had to run to keep after her.

"But what about the rest of my body parts?" he asked in panic.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Professor Elm's lab, New Bark Town, Johto**_

Kris knew what to expect when she and Shane arrived to the lab. A police officer was talking to professor Elm, taking notes and nodding as Elm spoke. Seeing Kris and Shane approaching, the officer took a few steps towards them.

"This is a crime scene!" the officer announced pretentiously. "I'm in the middle of a serious investigation… hmm, come to think of it... the first thing I learned in Police Academy was that the criminal always returns to the crime scene! Therefore, the only logical outcome is that... _one of you did it_! Now, there's only one suspect, though, so which one of you will come with me to the station? Should we go with 'Eeny, meeny, miny, moe' or..."

"Officer, please," a visibly exasperated Elm said. "I told you, the robber had red hair!"

"Yeah, I ran into him!" Kris said. "Long red hair, gray eyes, around five feet and seven inches, black clothing... and he acts like a douchebag. We last saw him at the Cherrygrove Pokémon Center. He goes by the name 'Silver', though I have no idea if that's his real name, though..."

"All right," the officer said as he hastily scribbled something down on his pad. "A little vague, however, though I know you're shocked over this terrible crime, so your memory of the culprit may have been a little hazy, but we'll make do with this. Give us a year or two and we'll find him and the Pokémon, or kill them both trying. Thank you for your co-operation."

As the police officer left, Elm let out a heavy sigh, took off his glasses and sat down on the nearest chair, then started rubbing his temples.

"This has been a really bad day," Elm mumbled. "I'm behind on my work, a Pokémon got stolen and the family of the girl who was going to get it are not gonna let me forget that... and I'm getting the mother of all migraines."

"Boo-hoo, you're breaking my heart," Shane said. "A criminal organization tried to kill me several times and my shoes are really chafing my feet... there's something wet in my shoes, and this time I actually hope it's blood..."

Elm put his glasses back on, noticeably confused by Shane's presence.

"Um, Kris, who is this?" he asked.

"Who cares?" Kris said quickly the dark blue egg to Professor Elm. "This is what Mr. Pokémon wanted to give you."

"Oh, marvelous," Elm sighed as he carefully took the egg from Kris. "Another Pokémon egg. He's been sending me a lot of these. He's never gonna let me forget his claim that apparently _he_ was the first one to discover a method to make Pokémon eggs hatch more quickly. He also claimed to have discovered baby Pokémon, but I'm the one who got credited for discovering Pichu!"

"You did?" Shane asked, suddenly impressed with Elm. "Awesome! So, how did you do that? Put a dude Pikachu and a girl Pikachu in a romantic candle light dinner, then the camera goes black, and I believe the guy Pikachu puts its tail in the girl Pikachu's belly button or something..."

"Uh..." Elm looked at Kris in confusion, but Kris just shrugged. "Well, erm, yes, I did discover that particular species and I wrote a paper on evolution... it's over there somewhere if you want to see it, probably under the third pile of trash from the right... or from the left... um, anyway, yes, I'm Professor Elm, nice to meet you, um..."

Elm held the egg with his left hand, almost dropping it, and offered his right hand for Shane to shake.

"Shane," he replied, shaking hands with Elm. "Though that's just a nickname from a much cooler name... give me a few minutes to come up with one and I'll tell it to you..."

"Err... yes, I'm afraid I'm a tad busy at the moment," Elm said and put the egg on a nearby table. "Mr. Pokémon owns many of the scientific publications in Johto, so he's expecting me to write a paper on his 'discovery'... hmm... come to think of it, I've never seen an egg like this before... hang on a second, you said you had an encounter with the thief?"

"Yeah," Kris said despondently and sat one of the tables, possibly crushing the professor's lunch but not caring. "If I had to describe his personality, it's like he's the anthropomorphic personification of a sphincter."

"Mm," Elm said, used to Kris' crass metaphors. "Well, I certainly hope the police find him soon. I'm a little worried about the Chikorita. Pokémon seem to develop some of their owners' traits, and they say that a Pokémon raised by, uh, a, well, bad person grows up to become unpleasant itself..."

"Psh, sounds like an old wives' tale," Shane scoffed as he fiddled with the buttons of one of Elm's various machines. "Shrew's all wimpy even though it's been traveling with me. Hey, prof, what does this do?"

"Oh, um, please don't touch that, Shawn!" Elm cried out and quickly stood up, dropping some papers from another nearby table. "Press the wrong button and we'll all be heavily irradiated! Don't ask me how that works, though," Elm added to Kris. "It came with the lab. Anyhow, Kris, how is your, uh, Totodile working out?"

"Horribly," Kris said plainly, then glanced at Shane to make sure he wasn't listening – he seemed to be more interested in his own fingers now. "Last night at Mr. Pokémon's place, it failed to listen to me at all, trashed Mr. Pokémon's garage, ran away twice and almost bit off my thumb. Professor, don't you have any-"

"I'm sorry, Kris," Elm said, clearly frustrated himself. "I know I should have been more careful with the paperwork... you would be well on your way towards Pokémon championship if I had... I just... it just hurt me to see you stuck in your house... I know you wanted to start your journey, and this was your last chance to get a starter Pokémon before the Silver Conference..."

"Oh, you had to remind me of that," Kris groaned. "Plus I have to take that shmoe to Ecruteak City... well, maybe I'll get lucky and die before I have to make good of that promise..."

"Uh... right," Elm grunted, clearly uncomfortable. He looked at Shane, who was still staring at his hand. "Um, what is the, uh, deal with him anyway?"

"He's from Kanto."

"Oh... well, no wonder."

"Well, I guess I gotta go then," Kris sighed. "Nice seeing you, prof. If you see my mom, tell her I said... hello."

"Right, will do," Elm said and turned around. "I guess I should get working on the... where's the egg?"

Kris stood up and looked at the table. While it was easy to lose things in the lab, you didn't lose something like that, and Kris had seen the egg there just a few seconds ago. Frowning, Kris looked wildly around the lab, then looked up.

"There!"

Kris pointed at the open window in the ceiling – a dark green vine had wrapped itself around the egg and was pulling it up on the roof. Elm and Kris rushed out of the lab, and once he realized that everyone had gone, Shane followed suit.

Outside, the trio noticed a tall man with a very striking mustache in full Team Rocket uniform standing dramatically on the roof, accompanied by his Weepinbell. He held the egg up high like a trophy.

"The great Fernando strikes again!" he announced. "I thought that, by following this dweeb, I could strike big and avenge the failure of my Xanatosian scheme at the bridge! Nobody move or the egg gets it!"

"He followed you here, Kris?" Shane suggested.

Kris ignored him, but readied Croc's Poké Ball. "Where do these clowns keep coming from?" she grumbled. "I've had it. No one else steals a Pokémon today!"

"Allow me, Kris," Shane said confidently as he pushed Kris out of the way and readied a Poké Ball of his own. "I've seen this guy before, he's, uh... super-dangerous! And, uh, scary and... did I mention dangerous? Anyway, you should let me take care of him, it's not like you have any fighting-worthy Pokémon anyway... Zuba, go!"

Shane threw his Poké Ball at the roof. As it opened, his Golbat popped out, its tongue hanging out in a grotesque fashion.

"Zuba, bring that egg back!" Shane ordered with misplaced confidence. "But don't sweat it."

As Golbat attacked, Fernando and Weepinbell dodged out of sight, disappearing on the other side of the building. Golbat followed suit, and Shane's confidence deflated a little.

"Hmm... I can't show my mad battling skillz if I can't see what's happening... ah, a convenient ladder!"

Shane ran towards the maintenance ladder at the side of the building and quickly climbed up on the roof, then quickly disappeared from sight as well.

"Oh, great, he's gonna get himself killed!" Kris groaned. "And while that would be a relief, I have a feeling I'd feel slightly bad that I didn't do anything to help it... I'm following him!"

"Wait!" Elm yelled a grabbed Kris by the arm. "There's something peculiar going on! That's a Team Rocket grunt! I've heard news that they had returned in Kanto, but I had no idea it already spread here... Team Rocket members don't tend to operate solo. They usually rely on strength in numbers. This guy might be more dangerous than he seems."

Elm let Kris go, but Kris wasn't convinced.

"I doubt it," Kris thought. "Seems more like an overzealous Team Rocket fanboy than an actual member. I'll go help the idiot, you try to get some help and... oh, who am I kidding, it's New Bark Town. Just stay here and help me if you hear me screaming."

"Kris, don't-"

But Kris was already on her way. Though she hesitated a bit, she nonetheless climbed up the ladder. Reaching the roof, she almost fell down and had to get on her knees. Although there was a slight slope on each side of the building, the topmost part of the roof was flat, and there were two stone chimneys there. Kris saw Shane at the top of the roof, quaking in fear and leaning on the chimney.

As Kris carefully climbed closer to Shane, she could hear him mutter 'This was a bad idea..'

"Shane!" Kris yelled. "Where's that Fern guy?"

"I... I dunno," Shane said as held on the chimney with both hands. "There's no ladder on the other side, though I guess there are some bushes he could jump in- hey, Zuba!"

Shane forgot to be scared for a moment when his Golbat suddenly landed back on the roof, though it landed a fair distance away from him.

"Didya find him and the egg?" Shane asked, got on his knees and started to crawl towards the Golbat. "Come on, girl, you can tell me. I know you can't talk, but..."

"Girl?" Kris wondered, unsure how Shane was able to tell that just by looking – in fact, the more Kris looked at the Golbat, the stranger it looked. Instead of purple, its wings were more of a fuchsia color, and its coloration was a lot lighter, too. Most peculiarly, though, there was something wrong with its eyes... "Shane, wait!" Kris yelled. "That's not your-"

But Shane was already close enough, allowing the not-Golbat to swoop in and grab Shane's shirt from its teeth. Shane squealed in terror as the Golbat carried him away, disappearing into the woods behind the lab.

"That's some strong fabric," Kris muttered and turned around, only to be startled by the sudden appearance of Fernando, who popped out of the chimney, still clutching to the egg.

"The old Ditto Doppelganger trick" Fernando smirked. "Never fails. The real Golbat is currently engaged in combat with my Weepinbell down there. Now, will you surrender?"

"What is it that you _want_ exactly?" Kris wondered. "Why would you steal a friggin' egg of all things?"

"Tch-tch," Fernando said and shook his head. "You really shouldn't trouble yourself by attempting to understand. Even I am just a cog in the well-oiled machinery that is Team Rocket. You can kill every one of us – or defeat all of us in a Pokémon battle – but we will survive as an idea. We've spread all over the world, we number in the thousands, we-"

"Do you even actually work for Team Rocket?" Kris cut in, folding her arms sceptically.

"Wha- do I – you – that's just – what do you mean?" Fernando stuttered.

"I mean... do you actually work for Team Rocket? They never work alone, and I doubt they'd bother to show up in a small town like this with an elaborate plan just to steal one Pokémon egg. I mean, what if it hatches into a Magikarp or something? You'd have wasted the entire day when you could have made a lot of money just by doing some honest work?"

"Look, you can see the uniform right?" Fernando asked. "The big 'R' and everything? It's hand-stitched, for Giratina's sake!"

"...that just raises further questions!"

"Enough!" Fernando exclaimed. "The point is... um... Beedrill, go! Poison Sting!"

Fernando sent out his Beedrill, who instantly flew towards Kris, attempting to jab her with its stingers. Kris leaped out of the way and quickly opened her own Poké Ball, sending Croc out as Beedrill turned around mid-air and flew towards Kris again.

As soon as the Totodile got out, it reacted by dancing and jumping around, only to stop when it realized it could slip off the roof.

"Croc, listen to me!" Kris yelled. "This is an emergency! You have to fight!"

Totodile reacted by turning away and sitting down. Fernando, on the other hand, was enjoying the situation and grinned widely as realization struck him. Strangely enough, he took the time to place the egg gently away before giving out his next order.

"Beedrill, ignore the Totodile!" he ordered. "Go for the girl!"

Kris stumbled a bit but got back on her feet and swatted the Beedrill with her bag as it approached her, sending it flying away, but it soon got its balance back.

"Croc, please!" Kris pleaded as she swatted the Beedrill away again, desperately protecting her face with the bag. "I'm not asking you to like me. We don't have to work together. We don't have to like each other. You don't have to do anything else! Just this once, attack!"

Kris swung her bag at the Beedrill for the third time, hitting its head and disorienting it for a while, but losing her balance as she did it, dropping the bag off the roof as she fell down, having to use all her strength not to fall herself.

"Beedrill, Twineedle!" Fernando ordered.

"CROC!" Kris yelled frantically, covering her head with her hands as Beedrill charged at her with both stingers at the ready. "_Please_! Do something! I'm your master! This is an order!"

With Beedrill inches away from her, Kris braced herself for the stab... but it never arrived.

Instead, Croc blasted Beedrill with a Water Gun attack, sending it flying towards Fernando, who barely had time to react with a wide-eyed shock before both of them flew off the roof and into the bushes below.

Realizing what had just happened, Kris got up shakily and walked over to Croc, who seemed surprised at what it had just done.

"T-thank you, Croc! I can't believe what you just did. Does this mean you'll start to-"

Croc made its case clear by almost biting Kris' index finger off, prompting her to recoil. Then, Croc just turned away from Kris and started pouting, prompting Kris to sigh and recall the Totodile back into its ball.

After that, Kris recovered the egg and carefully returned to the ground, where Professor Elm and a badly battered Shane were waiting – despite being covered in cuts, leaves and filth, Shane looked pretty pleased with himself. Kris returned the egg to Elm, who smiled appreciatively.

"I knew you could do it, Kris!" he said cheerfully. "You faced your fears, believed in yourself and managed to-"

"It still doesn't obey me," Kris retorted. "Maybe it was just covering its own tail. If Fernando had killed me, Croc would have been easy prey for him. I guess it still prefers traveling with me to being Team Rocket's slave, but that doesn't really make me feel that much better..."

Elm shook his head. "It doesn't matter," he smiled. "You fought off a Team Rocket grunt and saved an innocent Pokémon." He stroked the egg a little, looking much more interested in it than before. "And I must say, I'm actually looking forward to seeing what kind of Pokémon is going to hatch from this. I've almost forgotten the joy of not knowing – I've been too wrapped up with my repetitive research."

"Well, call me when it does," Kris said, finding hard to feign interest. "Come on, Shane," she sighed, "I did promise to take you to Ecruteak. With luck, we'll be in Violet soon and I can at least you ditch you there without feeling bad about it."

"Ooh, sounds fun!" Shane said with genuine excitement.

"Um, Kris," Elm said quickly as he pushed up his glasses and adjusted the egg in his arms. "This may sound a tad clichéd, but take care of yourself. Not everyone in New Bark is indifferent to seeing you go. And remember that the thing about a Pokémon journey is not about the destination. Not to, uh, break your spirit or anything, but not everyone will succeed. But just the fact that you _are_ on this journey means you'll learn something, experience things you haven't before and you don't even need to travel by yourself."

"Remind me of why that's a good thing," Kris muttered.

"No, honestly," Elm said. "I never went on a Pokémon journey myself... I don't really expect to have enjoyed sleeping outside and challenging random strangers, to be honest, but there are times when I kind of, well, regret it. I'll admit that you had a bit of a rough start, but don't dismiss the value of this experience right away. There's so many wonderful things in this world, but we may forget that as we stumble out of our hometowns with inexperienced Pokémon, battling the same common Pokémon over and over again and have to find detours whenever our path is blocked by a tree, a big rock or a chest-high ledge. Enjoy your youth, you two! I'll be cheering you on."

"He gets a little speech-happy," Kris told Shane as the duo turned to leave New Bark Town – hopefully for good.

"So, you're going for the gym badge?" Shane asked eagerly as the two walked towards Route 29. "You gotta let me see the battle before you, um, ditch me. I can offer some pointers! I've lost more gym battles than anyone!"

"The gym badges are just stepping stones," Kris explained. "What I really wanna do is have a battle in the Silver Conference. I've watched those matches on TV since I was a little girl and I always wanted to be there myself. Yeah, yeah, childish dream and everything, but hey, I've got nothing better to do. Well, there is one other thing I wanna do... do you remember the...?"

Kris forgot what she was saying when she saw a glimpse of glimmering blue between some trees. Her mind immediately jumped to a certain legendary Pokémon, but when she blinked, there was nothing. As usual, Shane wasn't listening very intently, so he didn't seem to notice the sentence ending unexpectedly.

_It couldn't be it... it's just because I was just thinking about it..._

Kris shook her head a little and walked faster. If she had any chance of winning any badges, she had to let go of all that daydreaming - and perhaps face the facts that Suicune killed those people after all...

* * *

**_A/N: Do I have any justifications about the "slight" delay between updates? Well, for a while I had given up and was focusing on side-stories and prequels, which are actually worth reading, by the way. Anyway, now I'm back for good, I hope you enjoyed this, and there'll be chapters popping up much more often from now on. I have to finish a planned five-part story before Pokémon XY comes out, or at least before the end of the year. Plus work on programming a Pokémon text adventure/RPG game I've been planning. _**

**_The next chapter, titled "Friendship is Magic" will be much longer and posted soon. It's done, just in need of a proofread._**


	11. Friendship is Magic

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: _FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC_**

_**Location: Violet City, Johto**_

_Shane's log, Day 46: "Wow, it feels like we were traveling that route forever. There was something prophetic in the words that professor guy spoke when we left New Bark Town. We just kept seeing the same Pokémon over and over and over and did I mention over? Still, it was worth it so me and her could get some bonding done, and from the weary sighs and annoyed looks that she gave me, I'm pretty sure that she feels it too. I think I'm witnessing a great Pokémon trainer in the making. Sure, she hasn't really had an actual battle yet, as the only person she could have challenged was this Joey guy she went to school with and decided to avoid, so I distracted him while she pushed him into the mud. Anything to stop talking about that Rattata of his. And sure, she still can't control her Totodile, but hey, she got a new Pokémon... a frickin' creepy one at that..._"

Kris and Shane had arrived to Violet City, Shane desperately trying to keep up with Kris' brisk pace. Surrounded by forests, Violet City was, despite its size, a very quaint, peaceful town full of old, wooden houses, with the town's main attraction, the Sprout Tower, looming over the whole town, visible from every corner of Violet.

Shane couldn't keep his eyes off the creepy, round bird Pokémon that sat on Kris' shoulder and stared at Shane without blinking, its huge, red eyes following his every movement. The Hoothoot had done that since Kris caught it the previous night, an event Shane had missed due to resting his eyes for about eleven hours or so.

"All right," Kris said firmly, reading a map of Violet City with her PokéGear as she walked. "I've seen enough of this ass-end of Johto before, so let's just find the gym and get out as fast as we can."

"I thought New Bark was the butt-end of Johto?" Shane panted as he desperately tried to stay with Kris.

"No, I have much harsher words in store for that place," Kris sighed, "but I wouldn't want to confuse you with those."

"So when have you been here before?" Shane asked.

Kris' only response was to walk faster, Hoothoot continuing to swing back and forth as it sat on Kris' shoulder contently, still staring at Shane, who had finally gotten enough.

"_What_ are you staring at?" Shane snapped at the owl Pokémon. "With those eyes, you kinda remind me of that creepy dude on the ferry to Cinnabar, but at least he was polite enough to ask that he wanted me to hug him! Knock it off!"

"_Hoo?_"

"You! I'm talking to you here! I'm warning you! I know where you live, pal! Stare at me for one minute longer and you might not wake up in the morning! I know how you owls love a good night's sleep..."

Kris finally stopped and turned around to face Shane, arms folded. Shane instantly flinched at the sight and took a few steps backwards.

"Sorry," Shane muttered. "Annoying?"

"_Somewhat_," Kris said. "Please, just... I never thought I'd say this after attending Cherrygrove City's school for nine years, but this week spent with you has redefined purgatory for me! If I get the Zephyr Badge, I'll show you the way to Ecruteak and we can forget about each other forever. And if and most likely _when_ I fail, I'll take you there anyway and then go die under a bridge, my last thought being utter joy of finally getting rid of you! How your Pokémon haven't hung themselves in their Poké Balls escapes me!"

Her tirade finished, Kris continued to half-run towards the gym, following the ubiquitous signs scattered all over town. Shane, however, kept his pace, refusing to leave her alone.

"Sheesh, Kris, a casual observer would think that you don't like me," he said, trying to ignore Hoothoot's creepy stare. "Is it the smell? You can tell me straight."

"No," Kris said over her shoulder. "It's the terrible personality. _And_ the smell. And the way you have to point out a flaw in my training techniques every time I try to train Croc. And you wonder why it doesn't obey me?"

"Psh, it's simple!" Shane scoffed. "If you have a flaw, and I'm speaking in hypotheticals here, it's that you don't have faith in yourself. Of course you're not gonna win anything if you're gonna be Bitchilla all the time."

Kris finally stopped and sat on a bench, tossing aside the wet newspapers on it that had no doubt been used as a hobo's blanket, bathroom and lover at some point. She took Hoothoot off her shoulder and instead allowed it to sit on her arm, petting it softly. Meanwhile, Shane took advantage of the moment to catch his breath.

Kris hesitated for a moment, then finally opened her mouth: "I appreciate what you're trying to do, Shane-"

"Really?"

"No, but I'm having my rare polite moments here, so please, _shh_! Anyway, I sort of semi-appreciate what you're trying to do here, but blind optimism isn't gonna work. First of all, I have only two Pokémon, one caught the previous night and one that doesn't do anything but dance, bite and hump people's legs all the time."

"Tell me about it," Shane said as he sat on the bench, uncomfortably close to Kris. "My pants still smell like crocodile-lovin'. Too bad they're my only pair."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Kris said offhandedly. "Second of all, I've been a 'trainer' for a week and I have no battle experience outside that one botched one with you."

"Oh yeah," Shane said and briefly smiled over his only victory. "But hey, what about when you captured that creepy owl thing? That counts, right?"

"Dumb luck," Kris sighed as she continued to pet her Hoothoot – it had closed its eyes and seemed to enjoy the petting. "I blinded it with my flashlight then threw a Poké Ball at it before it got a clue. At least it seems to like me, though, unlike Croc..."

"What about that time with that crazy Team Rocket guy?"

Kris rolled her eyes. "That guy wasn't exactly the toughest opponent ever – it wasn't even a real battle. I was almost killed! It was an emergency."

"Yeah, so, we'll create new emergencies!" Shane said cheerfully. "I'll bring in your mom and hold a knife to her throat whenever you're battling over a gym badge!"

"Wouldn't work," Kris said. "But, um, thanks for the offer."

"No problem," Shane said, smiling. "In the words of the great philosopher: 'sure, you suck now, but keep at it, and tomorrow you might just suck a little less.'"

"Remind me why I'm talking to you again?"

When Shane couldn't come up with an adequate response, Kris shook her head, put Hoothoot back on her shoulder and stood up, ready to continue walking towards the gym, only to be utterly freaked out by something that caused her to fall right back on the bench and drop Hoothoot, who protested as it fell on the ground.

Shane had to suppress a gasp when he saw what Kris was freaked out by. Standing only a few feet away from him was a girl, a smug smile on her face and hands on her hips, who could easily pass for Kris' twin sister. Sure, her pigtailed hair was brown instead of black and her eyes were brown too, but their height, the shape of their face and body, their pale skin, they were exactly alike. The girl was also wearing the most peculiar clothes: blue overalls, red shirt, thigh-high white socks and a strange, oversized marshmallow-shaped fat with a red bow in it.

"...Mario!" Shane said out loud, but both Kris and the other girl were too focused on each other to notice.

"Kris!" the girl said with obviously fake cheer. "About time you finally showed up! Me and Ethan were betting on you to give up somewhere around Cherrygrove!"

"...hi, Lyra," Kris grumbled barely audibly, looking in the other direction.

"Oh, you got a Hoothoot, how cute!" Lyra chirped when Kris' new Pokémon flew back on its owner's shoulder. "I would have gotten one myself, but after Ethan caught like ten of them, I kinda figured they were a little common for my tastes. I got _this_ instead!"

Lyra made a big show of opening one of her Poké Balls, the red energy stream flying on her shoulder and materializing into a strange-looking bird Pokémon whose head was covered with fluffy white down.

"It's a Rufflet," Lyra explained despite the fact that no one asked. "Virtually unknown over here, but Ethan's dad sent one over from Unova. Gotta have the advantage if I'm gonna compete in the Silver Conference. It's all about coming up with unusual tactics – confuse your enemy with a move they'll never see coming, don't you think?

Kris muttered something vague in response, looking at the sky instead of Lyra.

"Going to challenge the gym, Kris?" Lyra asked in a tone usually reserved for six-year-olds. "Mm, I don't think you should. Yeah, the gym leader doesn't really hold back when it comes to rookies. Naturally, I already got the Zephyr Badge..."

And though no one asked, Lyra seemed to feel compelled to show Kris her Trainer Card that had a wing-shaped badge pinned to it.

"...as did Ethan, of course, he's, um... currently buying us bus tickets to Azalea Town so we're not in a hurry or anything, it would really suck to have to hurry to get eight badges just to get to the Silver Conference on time. We've had a great stay here, checking out the sights. Once you've lost the gym battle, you should check out the Sprout Tower, really beautiful, though all the monks over there are kinda creepy..."

"...seriously, that is the best cosplay ever!" Shane commented, having ignored most of the conversation.

Lyra finally spared a moment to glance at Shane, suddenly unsure of what to say.

"Oh, uh... I... thanks, I..." Lyra turned back to Kris. "Say, who's... this guy?"

"...tourist from Kanto, agreed to take him to Ecruteak..." Kris muttered.

"That's the official story," Shane said excitedly, "but I like to think we're friends, traveling partners, bosom-buddies even, not that either of us really have much to speak of in the... bosom-department... well, you know what I mean."

"Friends?" Lyra repeated incredulously, still looking at Kris for an answer before turning to finally acknowledge Shane. "Well, um, great. I mean, Kris can be _such _a downer sometimes, so it's good that she has... friends. Even if they seem like they can't tell their groin from their elbow."

Kris finally seemed to find her voice as she stood up and glared at Lyra, attempting to chew her out, though her voice wavered a little: "Okay, that's it. Look, me and him, we're not friends. Y-you're not my friend, either, so why don't you just, um... go to... away! Shoo!"

"With pleasure," Lyra remarked, "although, my... our bus to Azalea leaves in an hour, so... you guys wanna hang out?"

Lyra's expression was complete, wide-eyed innocence when she asked the last part, but before Shane could respond, Kris hastily returned Hoothoot to its Poké Ball and stormed away. Shane tried to think of something witty to say to Lyra, but after some stuttering, he ran after Kris. Once he caught her, Shane quickly turned around, seeing Lyra still standing by the bench.

Kris had stopped to lean against a lamppost. She seemed even paler than Shane remembered and had to take several deep breaths before she could get herself together.

"So, um..." Shane desperately tried to make conversation. "That was Lyra, huh? What a kick in the elbow, she was."

"Told you," Kris grunted.

"Nice friends you have."

"Friends?" Kris repeated, sounding surprisingly similar to Lyra. "Did you pay attention to that conversation _at all_?"

Shane just stared for a minute, then shrugged. Kris sighed wearily.

"Actually, don't answer that," she said hastily. "She was my neighbor back in New Bark Town, which is saying something, because basically everyone there were neighbors with each other, and I'm pretty sure most of them were related to each other, too. For a long time, me and her were..."

"Lovers?" Shane suggested casually.

Kris glared at him. "_Friends,_" Kris specified. "We were, like, kids anyway. In that emotional slaughterhouse I called 'school', she was my first and only friend. We both liked the same things. Eating so much candy we almost threw up, watching movies and playing games till our eyes were bloodshot and Pokémon of course. But... I dunno, something just changed over the years. Of course, ask all this from her and she'll deny it and offer her own version... are you even listening to me?"

"Sure," Shane said earnestly and pulled his finger out of his ear. "Just cleaning 'em out so I can hear better. Go on, you said something about being gay."

Kris took another deep breath to get rid of her murderous urges. "I was _saying_," she continued calmly, "that once she started to hang out with Ethan Gold and his posse, she really started to change. Things were said, friendships were ended, nothing dramatic, really... it just happened..."

"Can't say I've ever been there," Shane snorted. "People loved me back in Viridian. They even threw a huge party when I left... I think my invitation got lost in the e-mail... anyway," Shane focused a little and turned to look at the bench again – Lyra had left. "You miss that, don't you?"

"Well, um... yeah, I guess," Kris shrugged. "It beats her trying to make me feel miserable all the time... but I know she'll never be the same person again, so no use crying over it. You saw yourself what she's become..."

"She didn't seem all that bad," Shane said. "I guess I'm so used to how awful you are that I didn't notice. Plus it seems she kept the outfit from her nerd days. Didn't you ever cosplay?"

"Uh, no," Kris snorted. "I did go as a Poké Ball one Halloween... well, I didn't go trick-or-treating as much as I ate candy in the basement, but I think my dad saw the costume... though I doubt he remembered it the next morning, but... anyway, why the hell I'm telling this all to you? Point is, I don't care what Lyra says! I _have_ to get the Zephyr Badge! I can already see myself thoroughly humiliating her in the Silver Conference!"

"There's that spark you needed!" Shane praised. "So what's on the agenda list?"

"Well, I gotta drop you off at Ecruteak so I don't have to look at you anymore," Kris listed, "but first, that badge! Come on!"

"Yeah!" Shane cheered. "Badge!"

_**Location: Violet Gym, Violet City, Johto (three minutes later)**_

Kris and Shane stood at Violet Gym's doorstep, Kris' hands shaking uncontrollably as she just stared blankly forward.

"Um... yeah? Badge?" Shane said weakly, wondering why Kris hadn't opened the door already.

"I..." Kris gulped and took a few steps backwards. "I'm feeling a little queasy... maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all... c'mon, I'll take you to Ecruteak now..."

"What's the big deal?" Shane wondered and leaned to read the sign at the door. "'_Falkner, the Elegant Master of Flying Pokémon_'... the guy's a bird fanatic, I've already met one of those, this guy called Tommy... they're pushovers! And if all else fails, just come up with a technique that's so stupid he'll never see it coming!"

"He's a gym leader, Shane!" Kris said. "I don't know if I can..."

"Sure you can!" Shane encouraged. "I mean, without that badge, you'll have failed on your first week as a Pokémon Trainer and will end up being the girl who washes bird droppings from Lyra's solid gold statue when she becomes the Champion! Is that a future you'd want? Huh? 'Cause I wouldn't... well, unless the pay is good... and if I get to wear a snazzy uniform... where was I?"

"Hmm, you may have been born on the short bus, but you're right," Kris said. "All right, I'm going-"

But before Kris could assert herself further, the gym's door was opened and a short-haired kid wearing a baseball cap, a T-shirt and shorts stumbled out of the door. Upon seeing Kris, he stopped on his tracks.

"Crystal?" the kid said.

"Uh... hi there, Joey," Kris said reluctantly. "Could you step aside, I would love to catch up, but I need to challenge Falkner and lose so I can go home..."

"Crystal?" Shane wondered, but no one acknowledged him.

"Oh, sure thing, Crystal," Joey said and cordially stepped aside. "Couldn't get a badge myself... even though my Rattata would have pounced on his pathetic birds, he's got this stupid 'three Pokémon' -rule going on right now. Say, have I told you about my Rattata?"

"Yes you have, Joey," Kris said. "Run along now, I think you said you had to go away."

"Did I?" Joey wondered. "I don't remember saying that, but I'll take your word for it. Later, Crystal! I'll be training on Route 30 if you wanna battle!"

And with that, Joey left, leaving Kris irritated and Shane puzzled.

"Look, I gotta ask," Shane said. "Your parents named you 'Crystal'? Sheesh, I'm sorry..."

"Forget about that now!" Kris snapped. "Did you hear what he said? Three Pokémon? What am I gonna do now?"

"Hold on," Shane said and started counting, first counting the Poké Balls hanging from Kris' belt, then adding up on his mind, before finally reaching the conclusion. "Hey, you only have two! Well, this is a pickle! Tell you what..."

Shane grabbed one of his own Poké Balls and handed it over to Kris.

"...have one of mine," Shane said. "The guy uses flying-type Pokémon, and if there's one thing I learned after years of Trainer's School, is that electricity beats birds. Ever seen a bird grilled by a power line?"

"All the time," Kris said and took the Poké Ball from Shane. "So, this is your Magneton?"

"Droid, yeah," Shane said. "Boy, the stories I could tell about the time I captured it..."

"You went to the Power Plant and found it floating there as a Magnemite," Kris said quickly.

"Huh... well, if you want, I'll tell it again with a different version. It's not work-safe, though."

"No, I'm good," Kris assured and held the Poké Ball delicately between her fingers. "But this is, really... thanks." For a moment, Kris almost looked like she was about to smile, but instead let out a mournful sigh and buried her face in her hand. "Except now I have a freshly caught fuzzball owl, a douchey dancing crocodile who never obeys me and an evolved Pokémon someone else raised. Type advantage or not, those are not the elements of victory."

"A rookie trainer, huh?"

Both Kris and Shane turned to see where the voice was coming from. Standing a few yards away from them was an old, white-haired man wearing a blue jacket, leaning heavily on his cane. Kris and Shane just stared in response.

"I can tell," the old man smiled. "Everyone's a rookie at some point. Lots of rookie trainers in Violet and Cherrygrove especially, with the Trainer's School and Earl's Pokémon Academy and all. Come on, I'll show you a good place to train in."

"Great, let's follow the stranger!" Shane said happily and walked towards the man.

Kris, however, didn't budge. "Care to introduce yourself first?" she asked. "Not that me knowing your name is gonna help you in the trust department."

"People around Violet and Cherrygrove call me the Guide Gent," the old man said, eyes locked at Kris. "A nickname that stuck when the former rookies boasted about their accomplishments in the Pokémon League months later. Without me showing them the basics, they wouldn't be where they are today. I recall a certain young man from Blackthorn with a passion for dragon-types... from what I hear, they made him the Champion not too long ago..."

"_Lance_?" Kris and Shane exclaimed out loud, and now Kris approached the old man too, though she kept her distance.

"Don't worry, girl, if you want to run away, I'm not exactly in the shape to chase after you," the old man said and smiled for a moment before he had to cough in his white scarf – odd choice of clothing, as it was the middle of summer. "And you can't exactly mug anyone with these withered old hands anyway. But that's all right, as I can't tell you how much joy it brings me to see young trainers use the knowledge I gave them to become something great..."

Kris smiled back at the old man. He was about as threatening as a Teddiursa in a Pikachu costume, as in somewhat creepy and off-putting, but easy enough to take care of. Besides, in '_Sue, the Master Trainer_' -books, there was a different old man teaching the main character lessons about life in about every chapter, and that was based on a true story... supposedly.

"Maybe you'd be more inclined to trust me if I told you my real name," the old man remarked and offered his hand to Kris. "Pryce."

Kris shook the old man's hand – he had a surprisingly strong grip. "Kris," she replied, but paused before she let go of the old man. "Hang on..."

"And I'm Shane," the dumbass from the background announced excitedly, then his Poké Balls to Pryce. "And these are my Pokémon, Shrew, Zuba and Swirly – oh, and Kris has Droid at the moment. Oh, and did I tell you that I'm Shane?"

"Shut up," Kris said to Shane while still focusing on Pryce. "Aren't you a gym leader here? In, uh... Mahogany Town, right?"

"Glad to hear my name carries at least some weight," Pryce smiled. "Maybe now you'll trust me enough to let me show you the way. Yes, I'm a gym leader at the moment, but I can't keep up with the latest techniques and there are a lot of young, promising trainers in Mahogany. I'm glad people in Johto still treat their elders with respect, but at this point, I'd be more than happy to retire and focus on training the younger folk."

"This old coot is weird," Shane said, yawning and stretching. "I'm bored, Kris, let's go to the store so you can buy me stuff."

"You know, Shane, some day we'll be old, too," Kris said.

"Maybe you will," Shane scoffed. "But I plan to die young in a blaze of glory... or I'll tumble down a staircase and snap my neck, I haven't decided yet."

"Well, I doubt you'd be a productive member of the community anyway, so good luck with that," Kris said, then turned to Pryce. "Okay, Mr. Pryce, lead the way!"

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Sprout Tower, Violet City, Johto**_

The most popular attraction in Violet City, the Sprout Tower, was an ancient, wooden tower that stood over a hundred feet in length, looming over the entire city, creating a very historical feeling. As Kris, Shane and Pryce entered the tower, the first thing they saw was a thick wooden pillar in the middle of the room swaying dangerously back and forth. There were also monks, tourists and statues representing some kind of Pokémon spread all over the place.

Kris approached one of the statues – they were old and their features were slightly faded, but the Pokémon was still somewhat recognizable. Kris had expected to see Suicune, or possibly Ho-Oh immortalized in the statues, but instead, it was a...

"_Bellsprout_?" Kris said in disbelief. "Wha... Hunh... Zuh?"

"Quieter, please," Pryce whispered. "This tower, just like the magnificent towers in Ecruteak, was built and, to this day, upheld by a group of monks that simply call themselves the 'Brotherhood'."

"So no chicks then?" Shane wondered. "Booo-ring. Is there an ice cream bar over here?"

"Yes, but it's closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays," Pryce said quietly, focusing mostly on Kris. "Anyway, yes, you could say that these monks are fairly old-fashioned and have failed to acknowledge that the world has changed, but this doesn't mean that there's nothing to be learned from them. People should not forget the wisdom of our ancestors, even as they focus on the future."

"I don't know," Kris muttered, looking around and feeling almost as bored as Shane apparently was. "I don't see what I can learn from a group of weirdos who think that a woman can't wear shoes at 4 PM unless their husband allows them to or some other ancient crap. I'm surprised they even let us girls in. We might bleed all over their fancy statues or something..."

"They're not _that_ antiquated," Pryce said, though he sounded rather amused. "I suppose the Bellsprout-worship has to do with the gentleness and grace of the Pokémon... but that's not common to the whole Brotherhood, though. Members of this order exist all over the world, and they all have differing beliefs and customs. The Bellsprout thing is strictly a Violet City thing."

"Or this place is a tourist trap," Kris observed when she noticed a monk selling some tourists Bellsprout-shaped lollipops. "It's not like anyone would want to come here otherwise. So what are we doing here?"

"The monks are all expert Pokémon Trainers, but no one is better than the Elder, Li," Pryce explained. "Normally you'd have to battle everyone here to get to him, but just say Pryce sent you, and he'll show you a trick or two. What I can tell you is this: choose your Pokémon wisely. Don't go for the most powerful, the most beautiful, the fastest, the strongest or anything like that, but go with your instincts. Choose the ones you like the most. Treat them with love and care and train every single day. Sure, you can take a rest when you need to, but the more you postpone the training, the harder it will be to get back into the game."

Kris had listened intently, but had to respond with an eye-roll. "I knew most of that stuff already," she said. "I just want to know how to make my Pokémon obey me. Look!"

Kris proved her point by opening the Poké Ball on her belt marked with a blue T. Her Totodile came out jumping in glee, but before Kris could give it any orders, it ran towards the stairs and into the second floor.

"Croc!" Kris yelled after it. "Come back he... oh, why do I even bother?" She turned back to Pryce. "See what I mean?"

Pryce just smiled calmly. "Don't worry, it's not gonna get away or anything, this is the only exit."

"Yeah, but he might chew on some unsuspecting monk's family jewels," Shane pointed out.

Pryce cringed, but otherwise ignored Shane. "You and your Totodile are both still young," he told Kris. "You both need to grow and get to know each other. I must admit that his temperament is a lot to handle... but you need to be confident. Assert yourself, believe in your own words, and it'll listen to you."

"Yeah, just like that time with the egg!" Shane said.

This time, Pryce didn't ignore Shane, but seemed to be interested in hearing what he had to say, but neither Kris nor Shane noticed anything.

"Yeah, it's easy to tell me to believe in myself and blah," Kris said, "but how does that work in practice? _How_ do I do it?"

"I can't tell you that," Pryce said. "I'm not you. You'll discover it yourself. Not to be rude, Kris, but you're not going through anything unique. Millions of people before you have went through the same thing, me included. My first Swinub was a terrible battler and only listened to me about half the time... now it's a powerful Piloswine and my main Pokémon."

"So what happened with it?" Kris asked quickly. "Did you save its life? Did you have to put aside your wacky differences to fight some evil crime boss?"

"No, we trained and allowed ourselves to bond slowly over time," Pryce said dryly. "If you expect something dramatic to happen that will change everything for the better, you'll be waiting until you're as old as me. If you want things to work your way, you have to _make_ them happen. I trust you will. Now excuse me, I believe I'm needed back at the gym. Remember, once you get the Zephyr Badge, and I know you will, your next stop should be the gym in Azalea Town."

"Nah, _if_ I somehow miraculously get the badge, I wanna go to Goldenrod first," Kris said. "Plus I need to ditch this guy to Ecruteak so I can get rid of him."

"I'm afraid that's impossible," Pryce said. "A strange Pokémon is blocking the exit from Violet City, so you'd need a car to take the highway. But you two are clearly on foot, so you have to go to Azalea first (Kris had to bite her lip to prevent herself from groaning in frustration) but it's not too bad, you should go visit Kurt, the famous Poké Ball maker. Now, I really must leave. Remember what I said, and good day, Kris and... you."

And with that, Pryce limped out of the tower, leaving Kris and Shane dumbfounded.

"Wow, that guy was totally unhelpful," Shane observed.

"I might be going crazy, almost agreeing with you," Kris said, "but he did help us get past the monks and straight to the Elder, so that's good. Come on, you probably had a point about Croc chewing on some monk nads."

Kris and Shane climbed the stairs into the second floor of the tower. Lit entirely by torches on the wall, an unwise move considering the tower was made of wood, the second floor had monks battling challenges all over the place, allowing Kris and Shane to move past them unnoticed. Kris observed their battling techniques – even though all of the monks seemed to train exactly the same Pokémon – Bellsprout – this didn't seem to stop them from winning. Kris watched one monk's Bellsprout effortlessly dodge the electric attacks launched by some girl's Mareep, then retaliate with a Vine Whip attack, while another monk's Bellsprout managed to knock down an Onix, that made a huge crash as it tumbled on the floor.

"Rocky!" the Onix's trainer screeched as he ran to the fainted Pokémon.

Moving past the battles, Kris and Shane entered the third floor, which was somewhat similar to the second one, except the path that apparently led to the Elder was blocked by the central pillar, some Bellsprout statues and a very tall and muscular monk blocking the gap between them.

"Um, excuse me," Kris said meekly as she approached the monk. "You haven't seen a Totodile running around here, have you? It's, like, blue, two feet high, sharp teeth, not so bright but one heck of a dancer-"

"No," the monk interrupted coldly. "If that's all, then get out... and go in peace," he added in a slightly softer manner.

Kris groaned.

"Listen," Shane said, "I don't really care about this whole thing, so you just go and meet that General Lee guy, and I'll look for Croc. Deal?"

"What?" Kris asked in shock. "Yeah, um, that would be great. Uh... thanks? Now get going!"

Shane quickly descended back to the second floor while Kris approached the rude monk, who failed to move and let Kris pass.

"I need to see Elder Li," Kris said.

"He's away," the monk said. "Now get out... and love your fellow man."

Kris sighed. "Pryce sent me," she said in a bored tone.

The monk's attitude changed instantly, though he still didn't step aside. "Oh, he did?" he asked cheerfully. "Yeah, that was a lie, he's here. He's in battle now, though, but he should be finishing up soon enough..."

The monk was interrupted by a rude male voice coming from behind him: "_Hey, wide load, get off the way_!"

As the monk stepped aside, the Elder's red-haired challenger walked right in front of Kris, stopping as the two recognized each other.

"You," Silver said.

"No, it's Kris, not Yu," Kris said coldly – she was looking forward to meeting the guy. "You should at least trouble yourself enough to learn my name. I learned yours... _Silver_." Kris chuckled. "Funny name. Not very manly, is it? Sounds like a stripper name. Though I doubt anyone would want to see you shaking your ass on stage... not with those eyebrows."

"Took you a while to get here," Silver said flatly, ignoring Kris' words entirely. "I already got the Zephyr Badge and I beat the Elder. He was weak, and he wouldn't shut up about his philosophies. Took him long enough to shut up, so I have no time for you. Get off the way."

"How 'bout 'no'?" Kris said. "You stole that Chikorita from Professor Elm, didn't you?"

"So?" Silver said and smiled cruelly.

"Oh, I don't know," Kris shrugged – she convinced herself that she wasn't afraid of Silver. He couldn't say anything worse than Lyra had. Nonetheless, she kept her distance. "It doesn't bother you that there's a girl in New Bark Town who was looking forward to starting her journey? But more importantly, _I _wanted that Chikorita!"

"Well, you should have taken it the way I did," Silver sneered and took a step towards Kris. "Last warning: get out of my way."

"We gave the cops your description," Kris said, though she couldn't hide the fear in her voice anymore. "You won't get far. You might as well give me the Chikorita now."

Kris knew how pathetic she sounded before she finished her sentence. Silver seemed to agree.

"Oh yeah, Johto's famously competent police officers," he scoffed. "As for the Pokémon," Silver spread his arms and held the Poké Ball containing Chikorita just a few feet away from Kris. "Why don't you just take it? Go on."

Kris hadn't expected this. For a second, she wondered if she could quickly grab it and run away... but Silver was taller and most likely stronger than her... he probably ran fast as well, while Kris was admittedly more of a couch potato. Unable to do anything, Kris just stood in place, prompting Silver to laugh at her expense.

Then, without warning, Silver lunged towards Kris, grabbing her throat and pinning her to the wall with his other hand. Paralyzed by fear, Kris tried desperately to breathe, but Silver's grip was incredibly strong.

"Hey, kids, knock it off," the monk said ineffectually, without even moving from his spot.

"Word of warning," Silver whispered to her, utterly calmly. "I've been doing this since I was ten. I'm not gonna get caught now. Don't try to follow me. It'll end badly."

Silver let go of Kris and tossed her on the floor, then ran to the stairs, disappearing before Kris could even gather her thoughts. She rubbed her neck and slowly stood up, still shuddering after Silver's unexpected attack. She then turned to glare at the monk.

"Thanks a lot," she said icily.

"Hey, what do you want me to do?" the monk wondered. "My job is to stand here. Besides, I took an oath of non-violence, I can only raise my hand against those who oppose our order."

"An Uzi would have been more helpful," Kris muttered.

"Do you want to see the Elder or not?" the monk asked.

Kris nodded, her throat still sore. The monk stepped aside, and Kris slowly walked to the brightest room in the tower, with dozens of torches on the walls. Kris recognized the Elder, who had kneeled in the middle of what seemed to be a Pokémon battlefield. Though Elder Li was surrounded by similar-looking bald dudes in robes, the Elder was the only one with a thick white beard and mustache, and his robes were a lot more colorful.

"Welcome, challenger," Li said as Kris approached him. "So good of you to come. Sprout Tower is a place of training where we study the art of Pokémon battles and try to figure out how all living beings can coexist."

"Yeah, great," Kris said. "Listen, uh, can you tell me about that ginger guy you just fought? I'm starting to believe that the old saying about them and souls holds some weight... anyway, did he use a Chikorita?"

"Ah, him," Li said and stood up fairly quickly considering his advanced age. "Poor thing. Don't get me wrong, he fought well and was able to defeat my Bellsprout... but the way he treated the poor Pokémon... it was far too harsh. He pushed the thing to its extremes and didn't even congratulate it for its victory."

"But he still beat you," Kris said, more to herself than to the Elder. "Anyway, uh, thanks, that wasn't why I came, of course... I need some help and Mr. Pryce said you might be able to give some. I want to become a good trainer."

"I've heard that numerous times," Li replied immediately. "And I hope you'll excuse me for jumping into conclusions here, but most who come to me seem to lack... well, conviction. They want a shortcut to greatness and are not willing to work for it..."

"There's a shortcut to greatness?" Kris asked, then gathered herself. "I mean, well... I don't expect to become awesome overnight. I just need some help to get started, that's all. Problem is, I only have two Pokémon, one freshly-caught and another that never listens to me. I'll be stuck in this crappy town forever if I can't get ahead with things! Uh, no offense..."

Li contemplated on Kris' words for a moment as he just looked into the girl's eyes. Kris waited patiently, believing she had already said a little too much.

"All right," Li finally said. "You do seem to have at least _some_ motivation... that's more than most can say. Show me one of your Pokémon."

"Uh... right," Kris said uncertainly. Bellsprout-obsessed or not, Li probably still knew a lot about Pokémon training, and Kris felt a little exposed with showing her Pokémon to him. "Hoothoot, I choose you! Um, am I supposed to say that? Uh, anyway, come out!"

Kris summoned Hoothoot from its Poké Ball. The owl Pokémon flew a few laps around Kris' head before settling to sit on her shoulder, where it proceeded to stare everyone with its creepy eyes.

"Ah, a Hoothoot," Li said appreciatively – Kris felt like she scored some extra points. "Good, a Pokémon I'm familiar with, then. The key to Pokémon training is confidence. You must believe in every command you say. Problem is, in hectic battles, there's often little time to think of an effective strategy. Even if you catch a whole bunch of different Pokémon, you still need to be prepared for every situation, as there's no telling when you're going to have to admit you're in a disadvantage. Now, the thing about Hoothoot is that they're actually more specially oriented than many other bird Pokémon, meaning you should consider teaching it Psychic-type moves. All right, show me what kind of strategy you prefer to use..."

**~o~O~o~**

Meanwhile, one floor below Kris and Li, Shane was still looking for Kris' lost Totodile.

"Croc! Croooooc!" Shane yelled. "Where are y... this is ridiculous! Shrew!"

Shane opened one of his Poké Balls, summoning Shrew, who was pleased to get some fresh air.

"Shrew, you remember what Totodile smells like, right?"

The little Sandshrew shook its head. Shane sighed.

"Well, at least try to remember. Try and sniff him out. I'll sit here and wait. Now, if you find him, just yell out AAAAAHH!"

Shane wailed in pain as the Totodile had just lunged at him from the shadows and tasted his leg. Shrew was quick to swipe the bratty Totodile away with a Scratch attack, but Croc retaliated with a Water Gun blast and then ran away.

It didn't get far, though. After running towards the stairs leading to the first floor, Croc was suddenly ensnared in a net that closed on it immediately, leaving it trapped. It tried scratching and biting it, but to no avail. Slightly limping, Shane carefully approached the net with Shrew in tow.

"Wow, I don't remember setting his trap," Shane said as he watched Croc's struggling. "Do you?"

"_Well, I don't blame ya!_"

For a moment, Shane just stared at Shrew, believing it to be telepathically communicating with him... in a really melodramatic voice. Then the person behind the net trapped stepped out from the shadows – a tall man wearing a Team Rocket uniform.

"It does have my craftsmanship written all over it," Fernando observed as he dramatically swaggered towards Shane. "Though, I kinda think the whole net trap thing is a tad cliché, isn't it?"

"No, it's fine," Shane admitted. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Really?" Fernando said. "Oh, how nice of you. Now," he switched to hammier gear again, "I have your friend's precious Pokémon at my mercy, and unless you want it to be hurt, you'll do exactly what I said. I believe a 'mwa-ha-hah' is in order right now, don't you think? I know, it's corny, and I don't really think I got the right tone for it..."

"I dunno," Shane pondered. "I mean, not to be creepy, but you do have a very nice, masculine voice. Wait a minute... what am I talking about? And what are you doing? Didn't you already get your hind kicked by Kris last week? Where are the monks?"

"Ingenious, isn't it?" Fernando smirked. "Oh, I would _so_ twirl my mustache now, but I just combed them... so you'll just have to pretend I'm doing it. Now, my plan, which I could almost call Faulknerian in execution, hinged on the arrival of your friend with the crimson coiffure!"

Shane just stared.

"You know, that guy with the attitude problems," Fernando clarified meekly, before returning to the dramatic speech. "Yes, I've been using the almighty search engine to study the spree of crime which has made him infamous all over Johto. He even has a wanted poster here. By tipping the monks off about his identity as a master criminal, which I admittedly added a little color to, I managed to get them to clear off the tower in a desperate rush to protect their Bellsprout-themed merchandise at the gift shop, thus clearing the ground for a showdown with your little friend. Where is she?"

Fernando then proceeded to gaze around the room, as if expecting to see Kris jump out from somewhere.

"Uh, you mean Kris?" Shane said, attempting to wrap his head around Fernando's lengthy speech. "She's upstairs, training with the Elder. Could take a while. Sorry, _Fern_, I'm afraid you're gonna have to wait 'till you get your revenge or whatever."

"Oh, really," Fernando said, visibly deflated. "Hmm, well, I guess another time then. Here," Fernando took out a knife from his pocket. "I'll cut open the net, give you the Totodile back and skidaddle, okay?"

"Yes, please," Shane said.

"NOT!" Fernando said, instead of holding the knife on Croc's throat. "One wrong move and the 'dile gets it! I just want to OW!"

Fed up with being captured, Totodile finally bit through the net and into Fernando's hand, causing him to drop the knife. Seeing its opportunity, Shrew jumped to the rescue, but Fernando reacted quickly. He retreated and opened one of his Poké Balls, sending out his Weepinbell.

"Razor Leaf!" Fernando ordered.

Weepinbell fired sharp razor-sharp leaves at Shrew, who tried to deflect them by rolling into a ball, but the leaves still obviously hurt.

"Shrew, Defense Curl and Rollout!" Shane yelled, using the tried-and-true tactic.

But Fernando was faster. As Shane was focused on the battle, Fernando summoned another Pokémon, his Beedrill. Shane tried to grab another Poké Ball too, but Beedrill was faster, flying towards him and holding its stinger to his neck.

"Shrew, stop!" Shane yelped, freezing entirely when Beedrill's poison-laced stinger was only a half an inch from his throat.

"Yes, stop, or your owner gets an improvised Tracheotomy." Fernando said gleefully. "Now, this whole revenge thing was really a half-baked idea anyway, so how's about I just take your Pokémon and call it even. A guy's gotta make a living, you know."

Sure of his victory, Fernando leaned to pick up his knife... only for it to be snatched away by a vine.

A second later, the knife was in the hands of Silver, who stood at the entrance to the stairway. His Chikorita stood at his feet, covered in cuts and bruises and the leaf sticking out of its head hanging sadly - and yet, it stood defiantly in front of its new owner. Silver only had to nod at the Chikorita, signaling the Pokémon to use Vine Whip again, grabbing a hold of Fernando. Weepinbell was distracted by its owners' plight, allowing Shrew to use its Rollout attack, knocking Weepinbell out of commission.

And, as Chikorita did its own thing, Silver threw Fernando's knife towards Beedrill, forcing the Pokémon to dodge, freeing Shane, who desperately scattered away from Beedrill's reach.

"Good plan," Silver said to an utterly dumbfounded Fernando. "I gotta admit, it almost worked. Still, I wouldn't have survived this long if I didn't know where to hide. Of course, I needed to know who had tipped them off first. I assumed it was Kris and her friend Thane here, though..."

Realizing his situation, Fernando stood perfectly still for a while, then quickly ran towards the window and jumped straight through it. Beedrill and Weepinbell glanced at each other, then followed suit.

"Wow," Shane said as he stared at the man-shaped hole in the window. "Also, ow."

Even Silver looked mildly surprised – which is to say, he raised his eyebrows about a quarter-inch.

"I didn't expect that," Silver deadpanned. "Chikorita! We're leaving."

Without even acknowledging Shane's presence, Silver left the Sprout Tower, the Chikorita obediently following him. Shane was just left sitting on the cold, wooden floor, wondering what exactly had just happened. Shrew quickly ran to him, making sure he was okay, and surprisingly, Croc also followed. Perhaps it was grateful that Shane and Shrew had tried to rescue it, or perhaps it had enough of mayhem for the day, having tasted human flesh and everything.

Before Shane could say anything to the two Pokémon, he was interrupted as Kris ran down the stairs.

"Hey, you found it!" she exclaimed and quickly recalled her Totodile. "And don't even think about running away again! That's right, I'm being assertive here! I was being assertive, right...?"

"Kris, you can't believe what just happe-"

"You can tell me on the way to the gym!" Kris said quickly. "Come on, I have a badge to win!"

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Violet City Gym, Violet City, Johto**_

Kris' confidence had quickly faded by the time she got to the gym, introduced herself to the Gym Guy and announced her desire to challenge Falkner. Now she was standing on the opposite end of a battlefield, waiting for Falkner to arrive. According to his assistant, he was busy with his hair. Kris didn't mind, though – a part of her wished that the battle would never start. She was wringing her hands nervously and using her all strength to avoid panicking.

Not only that, but what Shane had told her on the way there had really puzzled her. She would never forgive Silver, but it was still odd of him to save Shane like that. Then again, Kris wasn't sure if the rescue made her hate Silver even more.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the Gym Guy's announcement, however: "_An official gym battle is about to begin! Kris from New Bark Town has challenged Falkner, the Violet City Gym Leader. Three Poké Balls, no time limit. Begin!_"

"Oh, Arceus," Kris whimpered. "I'm gonna die here."

Falkner had finally arrived to the other end of the battlefield. He was a bishõnen-looking fellow with thick blue hair and dark blue eyes. What annoyed Kris the most, though, was the obnoxious smirk on his face.

"Dodrio!" Falkner yelled. "I choose you!"

Falkner sent out a Dodrio, a three-headed, wingless-bird that stood almost six feet tall. All three, vicious-looking heads had sharp beaks, and the claws on its strong feet were also deadly-looking.

"Just remember what you learned!" yelled Shane, who was sitting on the sidelines along with Shrew.

"Right..." Kris said to herself. "Croc, go!"

"Uh... you sure you heard what I said?" Shane wondered.

But Kris ignored him and sent her Totodile out anyway. Predictably, the moment Croc got out of its ball, it started jumping and dancing around, completely ignoring the situation at hand.

"Croc, focus!" Kris ordered. "Water Gun!"

Totodile responded by sticking its tongue out at Kris, then it turned around and shook its tail around while clearly laughing. Kris clenched her fists, her nails almost burrowing into her skin.

Predictably, Falkner took advantage of the opportunity. "Dodrio, Drill Peck!" he ordered.

Dodrio jumped into the air and landed on the Totodile, pinning it down with its strong feet. Then, all three of its beaks started spinning like drills, and Dodrio proceeded to jab Totodile with them, causing it to yell out in pain.

"Hang in there, Croc," Kris muttered. "Come on! Attack! Use Bite!"

But instead, Totodile used Scratch, swiping Dodrio's legs with its claws. This made Dodrio jump away from Totodile, allowing Croc to gather its strength.

"Pathetic," Falkner observed. "This will be over in no time. Dodrio, Rage!"

Dodrio's entire body glowed red as it charged towards Totodile, who tried to run away, but its short legs were no match for Dodrio, who kicked the little crocodile in the back of the head, knocking it out. Kris had no choice but to recall it.

"I'd like to say that you did your best, but..." Kris muttered and shook her head.

"One down, two to go!" Falkner mocked. "Come on, rookie, we don't have all day!"

Kris' eye twitched, but she didn't rise to Falkner's baiting. "Droid, go!"

"Yeah!" Shane exclaimed from the sidelines while Shrew started jumping up and down. "Come on, Droid, flash-boil that turkey!"

Shane's Magneton came out of the Poké Ball Kris threw on the arena, announcing its name in its robotic voice, ready to obey Kris' instructions.

"An electric-type," Falkner growled. "Why do they always bring those here? Dodrio, keep your distance and Hyper Beam!"

"Droid, Protect!" Kris yelled.

Dodrio fired a powerful stream of energy from its beak, but the beam didn't hit Magneton, but rather the invisible wall Magneton had projected. The attack bounced off the wall harmlessly, whilst Dodrio was left exhausted by the attack.

"Hah, just like Li said!" Kris said triumphantly. "Now it has to recharge. Droid, Thunder Wave!"

Magneton released a thin, blue stream of electricity that wrapped around Dodrio, rendering it immobile. Falkner was clearly annoyed by this move. "Dodrio, come on, break free! Use Agility!" he yelled.

"Droid, Thunderbolt!"

Dodrio didn't have time to break free as Magneton zapped it with its most potent attack. A second later, Dodrio tumbled on the ground, all six of its eyes rolling. Annoyed, Falkner returned the Pokémon.

"Try this on for size... Pidgeotto, go!" Falkner yelled.

Falkner's next Pokémon was a raptor-like bird Pokémon with a colorful tail. Unlike Dodrio, this one could actually fly, but Kris was undeterred.

"Droid, Thunderbolt!" she ordered.

"Quick Attack!" Falkner countered.

Pidgeotto moved way too fast for Magneton, and before the magnet Pokémon realized anything, Pidgeotto struck it with a full-body attack, though it was clearly hurt itself in the process.

"Fool!" Shane boasted from the sidelines. "You can't hurt a Steel-type like that!"

"Shane, shut up, you're breaking my concentration!" Kris scolded.

"Pidgeotto, Mud-Slap!"

Falkner took shamelessly advantage of Kris' distraction, and Pidgeotto fired a blob of mud at Magneton, blinding all three of its eyes. Then, it quickly flew away from Magneton's reach.

"No!" Kris wailed. "Supersonic!"

But Magneton's attack missed, as it was floating blind. Falkner ordered a Whirlwind attack next, sending Magneton flying until it hit the wall, knocking it out faster than Kris and Shane had expected. Kris returned Droid and tossed the Poké Ball at Shane, who looked very disappointed, but nonetheless praised the Magneton for its battle.

"Only one left," Kris sighed. "Hoothoot! Make it happen!"

Kris knew she was risking everything, but it was the only thing she had left. Hoothoot was happily flying around once free from its Poké Ball, but quickly realized it was in a battle and focused. Falkner ordered Pidgeotto to fly at Hoothoot, but Kris was ready. She knew Hoothoot couldn't withstand a direct attack, so she took a page from Li's book.

Instead of doing anything, Kris waited for a few seconds, allowing Pidgeotto to come closer. Falkner seemed to be sure of his victory, but then...

"Hoothoot, Hypnosis!" Kris ordered.

When Pidgeotto was just a few feet away, Hoothoot launched multicolored circles from its eyes. As soon as the circles hit Pidgeotto, its eyes started to close, then it fell asleep completely, losing altitude and eventually crashing on the ground. Hoothoot had won the match without moving a muscle. Even Shane was impressed.

Falkner, however, wasn't, as he returned Pidgeotto. "I never thought I'd have a battle like this," he said, "but... go!"

When Falkner revealed his last Pokémon, Kris flinched a bit: it was also a Hoothoot. Worse yet, she couldn't even tell hers apart from Falkner's. Nonetheless, Falkner was down to his last Pokémon; she never thought she could come this far.

"Hoothoot, Confusion!" Kris ordered.

"Use Confusion too!" Falkner yelled.

The two Hoothoot fired blue streams of energy towards each other, but instead of hitting their targets, they collided in mid-air. In return, Kris ordered a Peck, but Falkner's Hoothoot dodged and countered with a Peck of its own, narrowly missing. Soon enough, the two Hoothoot were just flying around and circling each other, both trying to attack, and Kris had lost sight of her own – just as Falkner had no doubt planned.

"Damn it, stop copying me!" Kris yelled desperately.

"Stop cop... I mean, never!" Falkner said. "There's no time limit here. I admit you're a tougher challenger than I thought, but I'm not letting you off the hook just yet. I have all day!"

Kris resisted the urge to cuss out. She wished that she had trainer with Li some more – the old man only showed her some basic tactics, told her some of the attacks her Pokémon possessed, gave some fairly vague tips and borrowed her a book that Kris hadn't had time to read yet.

But there was someone else who had given her good advice...

"Hoothoot!" Kris ordered, hoping it could hear over its constant pecking and dodging. "Fly high, then lunge at it and bash it with your skull!"

Hoothoot didn't seem at all confused. Obediently, it dodged the enemy Hoothoot's attack and flew up high, then folded its wings and started to drop towards the enemy.

"What the...?" Falkner wondered. "All right, Hoothoot, counter it with your own skull!"

Less than a second later, the two Hoothoot collided, hitting each other with their heads. And with that, they both fell on the floor, barely keeping themselves together and staggering all over the place. Kris, Falkner and the Gym Guy referee crept up closer, watching as the Hoothoot stumbled about, waiting for them to recover their balance.

Finally, one Hoothoot gained its balance and stood one leg, while the other fell down unconscious. There was a moment of silence – Kris wasn't sure which one was hers. She looked up at Falkner, trying to read his expression. But to Kris' surprise, Falkner just shrugged and looked at the referee.

The referee looked at Falkner, then Kris, then yelled out, scaring both of them:

"_THE CHALLENGER WINS!_"

**~o~O~o~**

As Kris and Shane left the gym, Kris holding her Zephyr Badge and being utterly speechless, it was almost night. The sun was about to set and the streets of Violet were busy with commuters walking to their home after a rough day's work.

"Um... Kris?" Shane said, a little worried by Kris' lack of reaction. "I've been looking forward for a 'yay' here. I mean, I almost yelled that when Falkner threw that tantrum. Must suck being a gym leader if you're not even a graceful loser..."

"Yeah, sorry," Kris said, unusually softly. "I just... I did it... one down, seven to go. Twenty-five days to get them all... I guess I never did stress out about that as much as I thought I would because, honestly, I never thought I'd even get the first badge... now that I did, this whole thing seems actually possible..."

"All thanks to Droid!" Shane said smugly.

"Well I _think_ Hoothoot did most of the work," Kris corrected, "but your Magneton was great help, which leads me to wonder how someone like you trained a Pokémon so well. So... thanks."

"Oh, no prob," Shane said. "I guess Li taught you some useful stuff."

"Yeah, he really did," Kris said, "and yet it wasn't him who showed me the last trick. It was just something that came to mind. Something to... confuse the enemy with a move they'd never see coming," Kris remembered. "And I guess I have you to thank for too."

"Huh?" Shane wondered. "You already did. Geez, your memory sure is bad."

"No, I mean... it was a technique so stupid he never saw that coming. You told me that."

"Say what? When was that?"

"Never mind," Kris sighed. "But I guess you can be useful at times."

Shane got excited all of a sudden. "Ooh, does this mean I can be your arms bearer and stuff? Make sure you get those badges? Be, like, your mentor? Your Yoda I can be?"

"Well, you can stick around," Kris said, "but only until Ecruteak. I told you, I'm in a hurry, plus that victory really wasn't enough to make me tolerate your presence any longer than necessary. Now come on, Hoothoot needs to be fixed up. We'll go to the Pokémon Center near the Union Cave and try to get there before nightfall so we can head to Azalea in the morning..."

"You got it, buddy!" Shane grinned. "Can I sing a jaunty tune while we go there?"

"Only if you rip my ears off before that," Kris remarked, but smiled as she said it.

_The Zephyr Badge is mine, and I'm not even that far off from Lyra and Ethan. Maybe I'm not so bad after all..._


	12. Slowpoke Well

**CHAPTER TWELVE: "_SLOWPOKE WELL_**"

_**Location: Azalea Town, Johto**_

Azalea, a small town in southern Johto surrounded by forests, was usually one full of life. Happy townspeople, gullible tourists and plenty of Slowpoke lounging on the streets. At the moment, however, it was dead quiet, the doors in the quaint wooden houses either locked or nailed shut, the curtains closed everywhere. Public buildings, like the Pokémon Center, were still opened, but utterly abandoned.

The only living soul walking through the quiet village was a young man with messy, dirty-blonde hair wearing a long but scruffy brown coat. He walked with a confident swagger, whistling and observing the emptiness with a slightly amused smile on his face.

**_Meanwhile, on the outskirts of town_...**

"_Sixty-three bottles of mead on the wall, sixty-three bottles of mead, you take one down._.. sorry, Kris, this isn't annoying you, is it?"

"It wouldn't annoy me as much if you hadn't started it from one thousand. I think parts of my brain just committed suicide."

Kris and Shane had slept in the Pokémon Center by the Union Cave, and as Kris planned, had left towards Azalea around six in the morning. It was almost impossible to get Shane up, just as Kris had planned – sadly, after five minutes or walking, he didn't seem tired at all, and worse yet, _he just wouldn't stop singing_.

It was eight in the morning, and the duo had just navigated through the horror that was the Union Cave, full of Zubat, Geodude and Rattata that assaulted them after every three steps, not to mention creepy dudes who wanted to show them fire-breathing tricks. Glad to be out in the fresh air and sunlight, Kris still had to smile, despite the crappy company. The memory of winning the Zephyr Badge was still strong and to top it off, her next opponent, Bugsy, was a trainer of Bug-types, easy pickings for her Hoothoot. _Unless_, she thought to herself, _it's part of a clever ruse, name yourself 'Bugsy' and then use Water- or Electric-types or something instead..._

After a bit of walking, the duo came across an old, circular stone well. There were also two signposts next to it and Kris leaned over to read the first one:

"_Slowpoke Well_

_Also known as the Rainmaker's Well_

_Locals believe that a Slowpoke's yawn summons the rain. Records show that a Slowpoke's yawn ended a drought 400 years ago."_

The second one was more straightforward:

_"Azalea Town ahead._

_Enjoy the clean, simple town where people and Pokémon live in harmony._

_Notable attractions: Charcoal Kiln - two guys, one Farfertch'd_

_and_

_Kurt's Poké Ball shop – put your balls in our hands_."

"Looks like we're here," Kris observed. "Though remember, I'm just here to get the Insect Badge. Once that's done, we'll get the hell out. This place is even more rural than New Bark, so expect to see lots of deformed people playing banjo-music"

"Aww, but I wanted to see the balls," Shane whined. "They say Kurt has the best balls in all of Johto!"

"Will you stop that?" Kris groaned. "It stopped being funny a long while ago!"

"What funny?" Shane wondered.

But as Kris and Shane arrived to Azalea, they weren't being treated to a quaint little village, but an utter ghost town, the image made perfect by a lone tumbleweed rolling by. Kris and Shane glanced at each other, then walked deeper into town, spotting a straggler wandering the streets. He was a middle-aged man in a suit, who apparently hadn't shaved or combed his hair in days. Noticing how the man walked like he could barely see where he was going, Kris was hesitant. Shane, however, walked up to him casually.

"Hello there, towns... person," Shane greeted awkwardly. The man stopped, but didn't look at Shane, just stared blankly as he muttered something to himself. "Say, what's with the Pripyat look? Did everyone just get bored with this city at the same time?"

The man ignored Shane completely, prompting Kris to carefully approach him too. Shushing Shane, Kris was able to make out parts of what the man was muttering:

"...all gone... men in black... one minute they're here... all gone..."

"Dude!" Shane yelled and tapped him on the shoulder. "Pay attention to us, we're totally-"

Shane was cut off when the man abruptly turned and started strangling Shane, whose eyes widened and face was starting to turn red alarmingly quickly. Kris tried to pry the man's hands off Shane's throat, but the man didn't budge.

"...they took them all!" the man snarled. "Gone! You did it! Bring them back!"

"Help!" Kris cried.

And just like that, a rock flew towards the man's head, accurately knocking him out, allowing Shane to catch his breath. The rock was hurled by a short, old man wearing what looked like a blue, single-woven martial arts uniform. He also carried a large, wooden crossbow with him.

"I apologize for this poor soul," the man lamented as he approached Kris and Shane, the crossbow dangerously pointing at them, causing them to freeze. The man seemed to notice this, and lowered his weapon with a chuckle. "Oh, heh, sorry about that. I haven't been able to sleep easy ever since my Pokémon was taken away. But I don't think I quite compare with my fellow Azaleans. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kurt, the Poké Ball smith." He bowed politely. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, so you're the ball guy," Kris said and let out a relieved sigh. "I'm Kris and the guy whose windpipe was almost crushed is Shane."

Kurt nodded. "I suspect you're wondering why this town has gotten like this," he said.

"A little," Shane whispered while stroking his neck – there was a red mark on where the strange man had strangled him.

"It started just two days ago, when the town's beloved Slowpoke disappeared from this town. Just like that, overnight. We told the children that they were out playing somewhere, but the excuse wore thin rather quickly, as the psychological effects of the absence of Slowpoke hit in rather quickly."

"Psychological effects?" Kris snorted. "Really? Slowpoke?"

"They're highly respected in this town," Kurt explained seriously. "Once, a tourist accidentally stepped on a Slowpoke's tail and I barely rescued him before he was beaten to death by an angry mob – it's odd how these people always have torches and pitchforks around. Without them, well, you can see the effects," Kurt said, gesturing around the ghost town. "A lot of people left town, moved to hotels or to their friends and relatives, but most are still here, too scared to come out, except to wander around the streets like a crazy person."

"Like you?" Shane suggested after regaining his voice.

Kurt frowned, but ignored the comment. "Have you two ever heard of Team Rocket?" he asked.

Shane had to ponder a little while. "Hmm... it rings a bell..."

"Yes," Kris said quickly. "Three years ago, they spread terror, mayhem and blah all over Kanto and Johto, but they were vanquished by..." Kris sighed wistfully. "The magnificent Red. He beat Giovanni not once but three times, then went to the Sevii Islands and beat up the remaining Rockets even more."

Suddenly, Shane felt irritated. "I could have done that," he complained. "And besides, did Red ever capture Mewtwo and stop it from wreaking havoc? I doubt it!"

"Mew-what?" Kris wondered.

"Never mind," Shane sighed.

"Well, it seems that they weren't vanquished quite so thoroughly," Kurt said. "Not only have there been rumors that they popped up around Kanto, they've spread their tentacles to Johto again. I just know they're the ones who stole the Slowpoke, though I have no idea why... I doubt they could gain anything financially from that."

"Maybe evil is its own reward," Kris suggested, before continuing sheepishly: "You know, if you're into that stuff..."

"Well I, for one, have had it!" Kurt proclaimed and readied his crossbow. "Earlier this morning, I saw one of those Rocket Grunts sneaking towards the well. There's no way they could have smuggled them anywhere else, what with forests and mountains surrounding this town. But I need help with that. You wouldn't happen to know people who could deal with this Rocket problem of ours?"

"No, can't say I do," Kris said quickly and pulled Shane away from his sleeve. "Now, excuse me, I gotta head to the gym and get out of this town, good luck, though!"

"Sorry, miss," Kurt said dryly as Kris stomped away, pulling Shane with her. "I'm afraid the gym is closed just like everything else in this town. Bugsy's _supposed_ to protect this town, being the strongest trainer here, but..."

Kris stopped and closed her eyes. After counting to ten, she sighed and turned back towards Kurt.

"Can you excuse me and my casual acquaintance for a while?" she asked, and without waiting for a reply, walked a short distance away from Kurt, pulling a hapless Shane with her.

Once they stopped, Kris leaned closer to Shane and made sure Kurt couldn't hear anything.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"I'm thinking: _hey_, hands off the Shane," Shane whined. "And also, _damn_ this shirt is durable."

"I mean, can we handle this?" Kris whispered. "I know we faced one Rocket Grunt before, but this is perhaps maybe possibly _slightly_ different. Plus, the first time we got rid of him, we got lucky, and the second time... well, you got lucky."

"With who?" Shane wondered. "Fern's not really my type. Well, he looks cuddly, but I'm not into the whole drama queen thing..."

"But the gym won't open until someone does something," Kris said, mostly to herself. "Kurt seems tough, but he's just one, fairly old guy with no Pokémon against who knows how many Rockets..."

"So, we wait 'till someone else steps up," Shane said with a shrug. "Why do _we_ have to do anything?"

"Shane, I know you're dumb and all, but listen closely," Kris said. "Wait for someone to do something, and no one will. These are _people_ we're dealing with. As long as they can find a comfier alternative, they'll take it. We won't get these people off their asses until we burn their houses and families."

"You think about this way too much," Shane muttered.

"Tell you what," Kris said, "we'll make Kurt do most of the work, since he's armed and all. We just supply him backup with our Pokémon. I'm ready, but are you? Not that it matters, you're coming with me anyway because I'm not taking you to Ecruteak if you don't."

Shane gasped. "Diabolical!" He weighed his options for a second. "...but I like it, though. Okay, I'm in!"

Kris and Shane returned to Kurt as nonchalantly as they could.

"We're your people," Kris announced. "Lead us to the Slowpoke Well. We'll get rid of Team Rocket for... great justice and... sunshine and puppies and liberty... well, you know."

Kurt smiled. "Excellent! Follow me!"

Kris, Shane and Kurt quickly reached the Slowpoke Well, which Kris and Shane had already passed. However, this time, there was a formidable-looking Rocket Grunt standing watch in front of it. Hiding in some nearby bushes, the trio also noticed a rope that could be climbed to reach the bottom of the well.

"Okay, I think I have a plan," Kris whispered. "Kurt, you have the crossbow, so you can stealthily shoot a bolt through his neck while-"

Kurt, however, ignored the plan. Jumping from the bushes and giving out a ridiculous battle roar, Kurt charged towards the Rocket Grunt, moving swiftly for someone in their 70's. The Rocket Grunt's reaction was utter bewilderment, which let his guard down a bit, allowing Kurt to tackle him straight into the well... causing them both to fall in.

"...well, that worked too," Shane observed. "Come on, Kris, we can still bail."

"I'd love to," Kris sighed. "But I need that badge! And you're coming too!"

Shane cringed, but followed Kris anyway as the two headed to the well. Kris looked down – it didn't seem to be too deep, as she could barely make out the bottom. There was a puddle of water at the bottom, meaning it obviously wasn't used as an actual well anymore. Kris offered the rope to Shane.

"Okay, now slide down, but watch out for rope burn," Kris said. "Oh, but first, get your ba... get your Pokémon out!"

Shane picked one of his Poké Balls at random and opened it – Swirly, his Poliwhirl popped out, flexing its muscles and preparing for battle as if it had heard Kris and Shane's conversations. Kris nodded while she summoned her Hoothoot. Shane shot a terrified look at Kris, but nonetheless climbed into the well and slowly started to shinny down the rope. Poliwhirl followed, and Kris went down after it, knowing she'd most likely regret this decision later on. Hoothoot was the last, effortlessly flying after Kris.

Kris had time to wonder how on earth could a criminal gang have a hideout in a _well_, but she soon discovered she was in a vast underground cavern. There were puddles of water everywhere, and a narrow, erosion-formed tunnel led further into the cave.

As Kris took a step forward, she realized she almost stepped on an unconscious Rocket Grunt. Laying next to him was Kurt, still conscious but groaning in pain and clenching his teeth.

"Son of a gosh darn motherloving heck!" Kurt swore. "I hurt my back tumbling down here!"

"Why'd you have to do that?" Kris scolded, not even bothering to help the man up. "You didn't even fire your crossbow! Why bring the thing along?"

"I got caught up in the moment," Kurt groaned. "I wanted to hurt at least one of those bastard Rockets with my own hands... in retrospect, a stupid move... I can't do anything else, but at least I incapacitated the guard before he called backup. The rest is up to you!"

"_What_?" Kris exclaimed when Kurt handed his crossbow and a case of bolts to her. "No way! That wasn't part of the plan!"

"You're the only ones who can save our beloved Slowpoke! Show Team Rocket that people from small towns aren't dumb and gullible and inbred like I know they secretly think! Go forth, you two!"

"We might as well," Shane shrugged. "I mean, sure, we might die, but it beats the alternative... climbing _up_. Those rope burns really hurt!"

"I guess we have no other choice," Kris said. "If only we didn't suck as Pokémon trainers... Hoothoot! Go and scout ahead, see just how many Rockets are there."

The owl Pokémon hooted in response and obediently flew into the tunnel. Kris and Shane didn't have to wait long for it to return. As it did, it landed on Kris' extended arm and blinked five times.

"Wow, that Pokémon can blink?" Shane gasped.

"Five..." Kris muttered. "I was worried it might be dozens. Okay, let's go. But _quietly_."

Leaving Kurt to take care of himself, Kris sneaked into the tunnel, her Hoothoot following closely behind. Shane's knees started to feel weak, but his Poliwhirl pushed him forward. The two entered the damp, narrow tunnel, trying to step over the puddles of water everywhere. The tunnel eventually became so narrow that Kris, Shane and Poliwhirl had to turn sideways to continue. Kris felt herself short on breath and anxious – was it really a good idea to do all this?

After several minutes of walking, the group got out of the tunnel and were treated the full scope of the cavern. There seemed to be an underground pond surrounding them at all sides, with a narrow stone pathway leading to an "island" in the middle. Seeing what was on there, Kris, Shane and the Pokémon took cover behind a rock.

As Hoothoot had informed them, there were five people, surrounded by dozens of Slowpoke - pink, dopey-looking creatures who merely stared blankly forward as they lay on the rocky ground, some of them laying on top of each other but either not noticing or not caring.

Three of them were ordinary Rocket Grunts, two male and one female. However, there was also a man who dressed like a grunt with some few key differences. While the grunts had short hair, this man had strange, spiky turquoise hair that his hat couldn't quite cover. He also wore white elbow gloves and knee-high boots as an odd fashion statement. The fifth one was a man Shane recognized from his black overcoat, messy black hair and a five-o-clock shadow.

"Miguel," Shane whispered to Kris, subtly pointing at the man.

"Uh... friend of yours?" Kris asked.

"Long story."

"Oh."

Kris and Shane observed what the people were doing. On the island in the middle of the pond was also a table with a selection of knives and similar objects placed on it. Around the table were piles of crates that the Rocket Grunts were loading into a dinghy.

"Proton!" Miguel yelled at the turquoise-haired man in his trademark raspy voice. "Your idiot grunts need some serious logistics lessons! You can't overload the dinghy by putting as many crates into it! The merchandise is lighter than their containers, for crying out loud!"

Proton just leaned on the table with a bored look on his face, taking his sweet time to answer. As Kris looked closer, the table seemed to be smeared by something shiny and dark red... and suddenly she felt queasy.

"I mean, you trained these mouth-breathers!" Miguel ranted, ignoring the dirty looks the grunts gave him. "You should have at least included a single math lesson in their friggin' curriculum."

Proton ignored the rant. "So how does this work, really?" he asked, picking up a cleaver from the table and looking at it with disinterest. "You sure the merchandise will end up back to the bosses?"

"Hey, you paid for the system, and I don't let my customers down!" Miguel boasted. "Just because those assclowns in Kanto failed to use my products properly and got themselves killed _doesn't_ mean I failed."

"Watch your mouth," Proton said coldly, sparing a glance in Miguel's direction. "Petrel was my friend."

Proton and Miguel stared at each other for a while, then burst into riotous laughter. The grunts joined in too, but were quickly silenced when Proton glared at them, making the grunts resume their work.

"Ah, but seriously speaking," Proton sighed and wiped his eyes.

"Yeah, okay," Miguel chuckled. "You're aware of the ninjas that used to call Johto and Kanto their home about a hundred years ago? The reason they were never caught was their ingenious use of underground hideouts, and the network of safehouses they linked with Johto's sewer network was the crown jewel of their plans. The last of the original members took the secret to their grave, so they were never discovered. This cave is also connected, so, quite simply, using my brilliant algorithm, the dinghy will automatically navigate its way through the sewer network to your HQ. Great place, by the way, loved the decor."

"Pretty clever," Proton admitted.

"Yeah, good think I took that C++ evening class," Miguel said. "Okay, we need to fill one more crate to fill the order."

Proton nodded. Putting the cleaver down, he walked to the pile of Slowpoke and picked one up harshly from its leg. The Slowpoke didn't resist and barely seemed to acknowledge Proton's actions. Proton placed the Pokémon on the table and, with a vicious smirk on his face, raised one of the largest, sharpest knives at the table.

Kris and Shane cringed and looked away in anticipation, but didn't hear the Slowpoke screaming in pain. Turning to slowly see what had happened, they saw Proton dangling the Slowpoke's detached tail between his fingers before tossing it into an empty crate. And with that, he tossed the tail-less Slowpoke into the pond, where it floated around quite contently with many others of its kind, then went to grab another Slowpoke from the pile.

"Working with Team Rocket, I've been involved in some pretty goddamned harebrained schemes," Proton said while casually slicing another Slowpoke's tail clean off – the Pokémon barely reacted. "But this is by far the weirdest. Is this really worth all the trouble?"

"The money you invested in this operation will pay itself back triple," Miguel assured smoothly. "Maybe even quadruple. My contacts managed to get some pretty classy adverts published in '_Pokéworld Daily_', and by now, the rich and the gullible everywhere are talking about the latest in tasty, nutritious foods. We got people selling them on the streets and at your little shop in Mahogany Town... trust me, when this baby hits the shelves, you're gonna see some serious sh-"

"It's obvious you put a lot of thought to this," Proton grumbled. "But I dunno. Shouldn't we be out making sure the Mask's plan goes through?"

"Hey, much respect and love to the Mask," Miguel said quickly. "This is all for him, anyway! He needs money to keep the gang running, doesn't he?"

"Okay, but you know what he's like," Proton said. "And if he doesn't approve of this plan, I'm pinning all the blame on you."

Kris and Shane continued to huddle behind the rock. Making sure the Rockets were preoccupied, Kris turned to Shane.

"Good thing they're having loud conversations for our benefit," she whispered. "What do you make of this?"

"Those gloves seriously need to go," Shane muttered, staring at Proton. "And what's with that hair? This isn't Naruto, dude."

"I meant the Slowpoke thing. I dunno, as far as evil plans go, this is pretty tame. I think I read from one of professor Elm's books that a Slowpoke's tail grows back if it's cut off. And honestly, they don't seem to care. And if you ask me, if this town's stupid enough to adopt frickin' _Slowpoke _as it's mascot or whatever, I say they deserve what's coming to 'em. Maybe we should just find the gym, break in and force Bugsy to battle me..."

"They don't seem to bleed when you cut their tails off," Shane pointed out. "So why's that table all... I dunno, maybe it's the same table they also torture prisoners on..."

Kris and Shane continued to watch as Proton tossed another Slowpoke into the pond like it was an old apple core while whistling cheerfully. Miguel seemed to be doing inventory.

"I think we have enough tails, Proton," he noted. "But we still need to fill this one last crate. Move up to the higher price range."

"Right-o," Proton said.

Proton walked to the pile of Slowpoke again, but this time, he seemed to take some time choosing the right creature. Eventually, he grinned as he found what he was looking for and grabbed a particularly large Slowpoke with a red 'X' painted on its body.

"Here we go," Proton said as he placed the Slowpoke on the table and grabbed a blood-smeared meat cleaver instead. "This one's nice and plump. Thicker neck than usual, though... good thing I sharpened this."

Realizing that Proton wasn't going for the tail this time, Kris covered Shane's eyes and closed her own, but they couldn't shield themselves from the sickening sound of steel cutting through flesh several times before the cleaver eventually hit the wooden table. Desperately fighting against the gag reflex, Kris could faintly hear Proton and Miguel talking.

"Who would buy these things, though?" Proton wondered in a casual voice. "Kinda creepy with those big eyes staring at you."

"With rich people, who knows?" Miguel said. "Loads of uses... main course for a fancy dinner, jack-o-lantern, hood ornament, looks good on the wall next to the Stantler head, hat for the kids..."

Kris opened her eyes carefully as she heard a thud – Shane, paler than usual, had just fainted. Kris tried to look away, but from the corner of her eye, she could still see Proton chuck a Slowpoke's torso in the pond. Unlike the obliviously floating, tailless Slowpoke, this one sunk to the bottom.

Shane's Poliwhirl had clearly see enough. Flexing its muscles and pumping its fists, the Poliwhirl was ready to charge at the Rockets, forcing Kris to grab its leg and pull it back behind the rock.

"Swirly, wait!" she cried out, forgetting to be quiet. "They'll... see you..."

But it was too late, as all five people on the island turned to look at the rock.

"Who's there?" Miguel asked and readied a Poké Ball. "Raticate, go!"

As Miguel sent out his Raticate that instantly started sniffing the air. Kris held her breath and clutched to the crossbow like it was a stuffed animal, trying to make herself as small as possible. Hoothoot hid next to her, as did Poliwhirl, who seemed to have realized its mistake, while Shane was still unconscious.

"We know someone's out there!" Proton shouted. "You, behind that rock, come out if you know what's good for ya!"

Kris took a deep breath, readied the crossbow and kept the bolts close to her hand. Then, as defiantly as she could, she stood up and aimed the crossbow directly at Proton, who flinched a bit. Realizing there was no way she could reload once she had fired, she knew it was time to fake some bravado.

"I... I'm just a scout!" Kris yelled at the Rockets, her voice higher than she wanted it to be. "W-we at Azalea are sick and, um, tired of your criminal... deeds! Return the Slowpoke at once... o-or else! Everyone from town are right behind me, so you might as well surrender..."

Miguel and the Rocket Grunts just seemed confused while Proton smiled cruelly and started to slowly walk towards Kris, holding the bloodstained meat cleaver in his hand.

"Nice try, kid," he remarked as he approached. "But we both know those people aren't going to leave their houses anytime soon. Who sent you here? Was it Yellow? Or that scientist chick from Pewter?"

"I... what? Um..."

Kris couldn't hide the fact that her hands were shaking violently. But when she looked at the pile of Slowpoke, still staring blankly forward and smiling vacuously, she knew she had to do something. But the only thought in her mind was running the hell away. Proton crept closer and closer, his hand close to the Poké Ball on his belt.

"Good job getting the past the guard," Proton said, still approaching while Kris took a few steps back, painfully aware that Shane was still unconscious at her feet. "But really, you shouldn't have bothered. We're just running a business here, that's all. And Slowpoke hardly feel any pain... once this is done, they'll be returned to the townspeople... well, the ones that still have heads will..."

Seeing one of the Rockets reaching for a Poké Ball, Kris fired a crossbow bolt at the grunt, hitting him in the leg, sending the hapless grunt flying backwards into the pond. Proton raised his cleaver and ran towards Kris, but was tackled into the pond by Poliwhirl.

"Raticate, go, Hyper Fang!" Miguel ordered. "You!" he yelled at the two remaining grunts. "Load the rest of the crates into the dinghies! The Slowpoke too, we still need to make a profit here!"

Miguel's Raticate opened its mouth wide, exposing its enormous fangs as it charged towards Kris, but her Hoothoot got in the way, hitting Raticate with a Confusion attack.

"Thanks!" Kris praised the owl Pokémon. "Now, Hypnosis!"

Before Raticate got its balance back, Hoothoot fired multicolored rings from its eyes, and as soon as the rings hit Raticate, it stopped on its tracks and fell asleep, forcing Miguel to return the Pokémon. Meanwhile, the Rocket Grunts were loading the Slowpoke into one

"Let's play it that your way," Miguel smirked and sent out another Pokémon. "Drowzee, go, Hypnosis!"

The moment Miguel's Drowzee popped out of its Poké Ball, it turned the tables on Hoothoot by attempting to put it to sleep. Hoothoot, however, dodged the rings easily.

"Nice!" Kris said. "Okay, fly behind it and use Peck!"

Hoothoot quickly moved behind Drowzee, and before the slow-moving Drowzee could turn and attempt another Hypnosis, Hoothoot struck it with its beak, knocking the Drowzee out. Miguel grudgingly had to return that Pokémon as well.

Then, as Hoothoot landed, something happened to it. It closed its eyes and started to glow, eventually becoming entirely enveloped by a bright, yellow light. It grew in size and developed thick, feather "horns", while its eyes shrunk a bit and became more piercing and menacing. Its coloration also changed to a lighter shade of brown. When the process was done, the newly evolved Pokémon spread its wings and announced its own name.

"A Noctowl!" Kris gasped. "Cool! Okay, fellas, I beat you fair and square, so how about you just give up and go home. What you did here today... it was something I can't even begin to comprehend. But leave now and never show your faces again, and we just _might_ forgive this thing ever happened."

But Miguel just laughed, and the two Rocket Grunts stopped working and joined him. Noctowl glared at them as it flew on Kris' shoulder. The grunt who with a crossbow bolt in his leg had swum back on land and was pulling the bolt away, groaning in great pain while his comrades ignored him completely.

"Good one," Miguel sneered. "You beat me in a Pokémon battle, and now you expect us to just twirl our mustaches, yell 'curses', vow to return and escape as we pull a smoke bomb from our pockets? In case you didn't notice, there's still three of us left, and Proton once he's done wrestling with that Poliwhirl. So, once we defeat your Pokémon in battle, we can," he grabbed a knife from the bloodstained table, "I dunno, kill you, maybe?"

"Oh..." Kris said slowly. "Um, that's not quite how I imagined this would go..."

"Rookie's mistake," Miguel acknowledged. "In hindsight, really idiotic of you to come here alone. You couldn't have possibly stopped us unless you had a bomb or someth-"

Miguel was cut off as an explosion blew a hole in the ceiling of the cave. Kris, Noctowl, Miguel and the Rockets desperately shielded themselves from falling rubble. When the smoke cleared, Kris dared to look up at the hole created by the explosion which allowed daylight to pour into the cave. A tall, rugged man with a striking mustache and dressed in Team Rocket uniform rappelled down a rope into the cave.

"Oh, no, not you," Kris groaned.

"Oh yes, yes me," Fern cheered as he took his hat off and bowed at Kris when he landed. "He has arrived, boys and girls, and he's _veeeerrry_ cross with the lot of you. Team Rocket had an operation going on in this town and he, the one you call Fernando, wasn't even invited? Where's the love? Is there any love? I'm not feeling the love here!"

Proton had finally bested Poliwhirl in the wrestling match by sicking his Zubat upon it. Soaking wet and covered in bruises, he crawled back on land. Miguel also recovered from the his shock.

"Fernando?" Miguel wondered. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, Miguel, my very favorite cousin," Fern said dramatically. "I should have recognized your handiwork when I saw it. How Machiavellian indeed... well, the money-making scheme is rather pedestrian, but I must admit, the way you camouflaged the operation and the design of the logistics... to paraphrase Executive Proton here, it was indeed clever."

"Do I know you?" Proton grunted as he squeezed his hat dry.

"Why, I'm shocked," Fern gasped. "The original Team Rocket headquarters, five years ago. You were training the new recruits, and may I say, loving every moment of it. You destroyed my psyche, convinced I was less than human and pushed me endlessly to get results. I should have known the reason you chose to torment me especially was because you saw something special in me from day one..."

Proton reacted with bewilderment. "No, don't remember," he shrugged.

"Fernando, the guys told me about you," Miguel said. "You need to stop pretending like you belong. They kicked you off the gang about a month ago. You weren't paying your membership fees."

"_Reaaalllly_?" Fern said, stretching every letter. "I could have sworn I sent it to you right on time. Everyone check your online bank accounts – could be mine crashed when I tried to send you the money. Damn Java! Damn it to Hades!"

In the ensuing confusion, Kris was steadily crawling towards the cage containing the Slowpoke. One of the Rocket Grunts was still down due to the crossbow bolt wound, while the other two had been knocked out by debris, while Miguel and Proton were completely focused on Fernando.

"Miguel, I don't care who this clown is," Proton snarled, "but he's messing with our work!"

"_Work_?" Fern repeated with disgust. "You call this _work_ now? Butchering innocent creatures? Selling their parts for profit? That is not the Team Rocket I remember!"

"Yes it is, you idiot!" Proton countered. "Just three years ago me and my team were selling Cubone skulls and we had to kill a Marowak because it got in our way, _kind of like you're doing now_!"

"Silence!" Fern shouted. "I hereby declare this operation... pause for dramatic effect... _terminated_! Wait, that's not good... man, how I could fall for such an easy line... oh well, I didn't have time to work on my speech... anyway, I'm closing you down!"

Fern then turned to the hole he just blew on the cave's ceiling.

"Ahoy there!" he yelled. "I'm over here, and so are all my criminal buddies. We took your Slowpoke and stashed them here! Come and get us!"

Kris, Miguel and Proton all looked up, and to the utter horror of the latter two, over a dozen townspeople appeared on the mouth of the pit, carrying torches and pitchforks. The mob was inexplicably led by Kurt, who was armed with a baseball bat.

"Down there!" Kurt yelled. "Get 'em!"

Fernando laughed and ran away as the angry mob descended into the cave. Proton quickly recalled his Zubat and opened another Poké Ball on his belt, sending out a Koffing, who covered Proton's escape with its Smokescreen attack. Miguel escaped by the mob by diving into the pond, apparently fleeing into the sewer pipes. Half of the mob gave chase to Fernando while the other half arrested the wounded Rocket Grunts. Kurt, moving with no apparent problems, jumped into the cave and rushed to help Kris get the Slowpoke away from the cage.

"I thought you said you hurt your back!" Kris said.

"What?" Kurt asked. "Oh, yes, um... excellent work you did here! You saved our beloved Pokémon from certain doom!"

Kris shook her head. "I didn't do anything," she muttered. "And we couldn't even save them all... but what exactly happened here? I thought the Azaleans were too scared to do anything."

"That's what I thought as well," Kurt said. "It seems this, err, _Fernando_ fellow had provoked some of the townspeople into following him and had spent most of the day dropping hints about Team Rocket operating here... but why he did all this, I have no idea."

"Me neither, and right now, I don't really care," Kris grumbled. "Come on, Shane is catching Z's there somewhere, help me wake him up..."

**~o~O~o~**

Back on the surface of Azalea Town, things couldn't be more different. People were able to go outside again, stores and other public buildings were opened as their staff went back to work, and most importantly, Slowpoke were populating the streets again. Once again, they didn't seem to do much besides crawl and sit around and sometimes stare blankly forward for hours. Kris had considered catching one before, but now, she was firmly against it – in all honesty, those Pokémon were rather depressing.

Kris and Shane stood in front of the Pokémon Center, where Kurt had told them to wait. Shane still slowly recovering from what he had seen. For a moment, Kris actually felt sorry for him, but this soon turned to fear that Shane would end up vomiting on her shoes. Soon enough, as promised, Kurt arrived with two people in tow: the gym leader, the androgynous Bugsy, and a blonde, cowboy-looking guy (sans a hat) wearing a scruffy brown coat.

"Kurt just told me what you two did," Bugsy said, and Kris found it hard not to laugh over the contrast between his voice and his appearance as she shook the leader's hand. "On behalf of everyone in Azalea Town, I want to thank you. Just so you know, I was planning an attack against Team Rocket myself."

"Of course," Kris said, suppressing a smile. "You're gonna open the gym again, right?"

"Naturally," Bugsy said. "I'm looking forward to challenging you. Before that, however, Kurt told me he has something to tell you."

Bugsy returned to his gym, and the unidentified blonde guy stepped in, shaking Kris' hand in turn.

"That was real nice work back at the well," he said, smiling slyly. "It may have been that one Rocket Grunt who did most o' the work, but standing up against those guys took real guts."

"Yeah, thanks, whatever," Kris said quickly, focusing mostly on Kurt, wanting him to say whatever he had on his mind fast. "Kurt, what did you-"

"I'll be seeing you around, Kris," the blonde guy said.

"Yeah, okay... what?"

Kris turned to actually look at the guy in confusion, he but he had left, disappeared into the crowd, who were all celebrating the return of the Slowpoke, seemingly ignoring the people who made their return possible. Before he could give any further thought to the mystery man, Kurt stepped in.

"I'd like to ask a favor from you two," he said and showed Kris and Shane a peculiar Poké Ball. The top half of the ball was apparently made from solid gold, while the bottom was silver. "My friend Pryce sent me this. He calls it the GS Ball. I was supposed to study its mechanisms and find out how to open it, but this is something beyond my expertise. He suggested I send it to my son, Gideon, who has a lab at the Whirl Islands. Seeing as you're wandering Pokémon trainers and all, would you mind delivering it to him? I can't really put anything like this in the mail. It's too far for me, as I have to keep my Poké Ball shop together and take care of my granddaughter."

"I guess we do owe him one," Shane observed and tried to take the ball from Kurt – however, Kris grabbed it first. Shane would most likely just sell it to buy candy or something.

"You betcha," Kris said. "Deliver it, study it, save Granny's farm, whatever. Say, who was that guy just now?"

"Who?" Kurt wondered. "That Orrean hick? I dunno, I thought he was your friend... he just sort of followed me and Bugsy here..."

Putting the GS Ball safely in her bag, Kris turned to look at the spot where the man had disappeared. She already had enough on her plate with Lyra and Ethan traveling around while Silver and Fernando tried to make her life hard. Whoever the guy was, now was not the time. Plus, she already had her hands full with just one dumb blonde.

"Man, I could use some candy right now," Shane said. "Hey, do we _really_ have to deliver that thing? Take it to the Pokémon Mart and we could get some good money..."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Neo Team Rocket HQ, Mahogany Town**_

Deep beneath Mahogany Town, in a dingy, dark office, Proton was on the floor on his knees, holding his hat as he spoke to his superiors. Archer, the male Executive, stood in front of him, arms folded, staring down at his minion. Ariana, his wife, leaned on a wall and stroked a Persian statue. Both wore white uniforms opposed to the traditional black ones, Ariana wearing a dress and Archer a suit.

"One more time, Houndoom," Archer commanded.

Archer's Houndoom wrapped its tail around Proton's throat and squeezed. Archer let the Pokémon strangle Proton for a moment until he called it off.

"That's pointless, and you know that," Ariana sighed, hardly even paying attention.

"Slowpoketails," Archer said incredulously, staring at Proton. "I just... Slowpoketails? You risked exposing our plans and got three of our soldiers arrested because of... no, seriously, Slowpoketails?"

Ariana rolled her eyes. "We covered that part already. Get to the part where one of our own caused the plan to fail."

"He's not one of our own... anymore," Proton said monotonously.

"Oh, so he's some disgruntled ex-grunt?" Ariana laughed. "Sweet, merciful Crystal Dragon Jesus, if one of our own wants to quit, we don't politely tell them to return their uniform, we chop them up and send them to a processing plant to make Pokémon food! I know we haven't been in action for a while, but this is ridiculous!"

"And who was this girl you mentioned?" Archer asked. "If what you said was true, she'll be going to Goldenrod next... don't we have something going on there, hmm?"

"She's no one," Proton said quickly. "Some little trollop who stole her daddy's crossbow and wanted to play hero. And I can handle things in Goldenrod, if you'd just let me-"

"_My information says otherwise_..."

Ariana, Archer and Proton started shivering, but that had little to do with the temperature dropping suddenly as a vaguely human-shaped figure in a long, black cloak floated in, its face covered by long, flowing white hair and a decorative voodoo mask. It spoke with a deep, commanding voice, sending all three Rocket Executives on their knees.

"_Keep track of this girl_," the Mask of Ice said calmly. "_And make sure our operation in Goldenrod goes uninterrupted. Proton, though your actions were clearly out of loyalty to me, I will not tolerate any more failures. Same goes for you two. Understood?_"

Ariana, Archer and Proton nodded furiously.

"_Good_. _Ariana will take care of the Goldenrod situation." _Ariana almost fell getting up and stormed out of the room. "_Archer, stay behind and take care of the base. And Proton... take a few days off. I insist_."

"Yes, master," Proton babbled. "A brief vacation, yes, if you say so. Gotta prepare for the big operation. Gotta cool down a bit."

"_Indeed_."

As the Mask of Ice touched Proton's shoulder, Proton's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he cringed, then froze solid instantly, as if he had been dipped in liquid nitrogen. Archer stared at the display in horror.

"_He'll be back in commission in a few days... if I let him._"


	13. A Fork in the Path

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN: _A FORK IN THE PATH_**

_Shane's log, Day 50: "These past three days have been a madhouse. A madhouse! After Kris and yours truly kicked some Team Rocket arse back at the Slowpoke Well and Kris' Noctowl easily squished Bugsy's pathetic Pokémon team, we valiantly traveled through the Ilex Forest and entered Goldenrod City, the city that never sleeps, except at nighttime. There, Kris was on the verge of having an aneurysm over Whitney's star Pokémon, some kind of cow. What with her Totodile still barely doing anything and Noctowl getting beaten, Kris lost that one pretty quickly_."

"_So what to do? Mope around and complain about how life sucks? Well, she did that for a little while, but surprisingly little. Then she jumped right back into action, went out and caught two Pokémon: a Murkrow and a Misdreavus. What is up with her and creepy Pokémon? Well, anyway, that cow-thingy was no match for Kris' ghost... thingy, so now she has three badges and still three weeks left before the Silver Conference starts, and now we're arriving to the place we've all been waiting for..._"

Ecruteak City! A literal breath of fresh air after the traffic, commotion and neon lights of Goldenrod. Despite the relatively large size of the place, Ecruteak seemed calmer. People were going nowhere in a hurry, the air was clean and the architecture had a nice, old-fashioned feel to it. Plus, while the streets of Goldenrod were full of trash, parking meters, vending machines and people handing out pamphlets, Ecruteak was full of trees and most of its inhabitants traveled on foot, on bike or with the commuter tram. Combine that with a spectacular view of the humongous Bell Tower in the northern part of town, and Ecruteak seemed like a paradise to live in.

Kris and Shane exited the Pokémon Center and headed towards the Pokémon Mart to stock up on items, having a relatively casual chat at first, with relatively little annoying banter. That is, until Kris dropped the bomb:

"So, Shane, we're here," Kris said. "Ecruteak City."

"Ee-yup," Shane said cheerfully, oblivious to what Kris meant.

"So... do I need to walk you all the way to your relatives? 'Cuz I need to get to the gym. This is a nice place and all, but I have no time for sightseeing."

"Relatives?" Shane wondered and had to think about it before something clicked. "Oh, right, crap, that... I... uh..."

Shane just realized that back in Celadon, all Eusine had told him that the Legendary Pokémon Society's headquarters was in Ecruteak. Where, exactly, he hadn't asked.

"Umm... no, you don't have to..." Shane said, thinking as fast as he could. "And that's because... hey, you really don't wanna check out the sights? Climb on top of the Bell Tower? See the Kimono Girls do a show?"

"Do you even know where your relatives live?" Kris frowned.

"...no."

"Wow, you must really not be their favorite. Can't _possibly_ imagine why..."

"Oh, yeah, but... uh..." Shane desperately needed an excuse now. "Yes, but see, my, uh, uncle is a night watchman at the gym, so he should show up to work at... night. So, I'll just wait for him there, right?"

"Okay," Kris shrugged and fiddled with her PokéGear. "Good thing this map app can pinpoint the gym for me. Sure, it also allows the evil, multinational corporation that made it to keep track of my whereabouts, but that's a small price to pay for this kind of convenience. But first, I need some Potions..."

Kris and Shane entered the blue-roofed Poké Mart. The bell on the doorway chimed pleasantly as they entered, but the clerk barely seemed to notice as he leaned against the counter and read '_Pokéworld Daily_'. Before heading for the shelves, Kris glanced at the headline: "_Hoenn champion Wallace to be the host of this year's Whirl Cup_".

"Okay..." Kris muttered to herself as she browsed the shelves. "Couple of Super Potions, some Poké Balls, maybe a few Great Balls if they have any... and if we're gonna get into another cave, we'll need lots of Repel. Better make it an even dozen. Good thing Whitney was loaded... you know, I hear shopping is much more convenient in Unova. They have Poké Marts and Pokémon Centers in the same building."

"Hah, weirdos!" Shane laughed as he perused the shelf containing expensive but pointless items. "Ooh, there's a new set of bootleg cards for sale. Pikablu? I already have that... but this card is _shiny_... better buy three..."

"Excuse me!"

Startled, Shane dropped the deck of overpriced cards he was fondling as an overweight man in a clown costume suddenly appeared besides him.

"Young man, this is your lucky day," the clown declared. "I am the famous Firebreather... Walt! I'm sure you've heard of me," he added and demonstrated his act by blowing fire out of his mouth, almost singing Shane's hair.

"Hey, I told you before!" the clerk yelled. "Not inside the store!"

"You, good sir, are in for an opportunity of a lifetime!" Walt said loudly. "For only five... thousand... poké-dollar-whatever-currency-things, you can have... this!"

Walt pulled a twisted metal rod with a flat metal disk at the tip from his pocket. There were lots of wires crudely attached to it and it was covered with colorful stickers, which immediately got Shane's attention.

"Neat!" Shane said. "...uh, what is it? A vibrator for mutants?"

"Even better!" Walt shouted, and now Kris took her eyes off the shelves as well to see what the commotion was about. "This simple-yet-incredibly-complicated machine is your key to discovering all the ancient, buried treasure of Ecruteak City. Just imagine it, you and your Pokémon, exploring the dangerous basement levels of the Burned Tower, surrounded by all the myths and legends of Johto, when the machine beeps, and you find a motherload of treasure! And let's not forget that when you're rich, you'll be getting a lot more action, if you know what I mean..."

"I don't, but the rich part sounds awesome!" Shane said excitedly and was already digging out his leather wallet. "I would be a fool not to take this offer!"

"Indeed you would be, handsome sir!" Walt said with a wide grin. "We also accept rupees!"

"Hold on, shyster!" Kris interrupted and stopped Shane from pouring all his money on the floor. "Why aren't _you_ using it to search or hidden treasure?"

"An excellent question!" Walt yelled, though he kept his attention on Shane. "Alas, I would, but my back is not what it used to be. Plus, ancient catacombs and the like give me the creeps. But you, sir, are clearly as brave as the ancient ninjas of Johto."

"You mean people who hide in the shadows and stab their enemies in the back?" Kris clarified.

"Kris, don't get in the way of business," Shane snapped. "This guy is a true entrepreneur! He's what makes this nation, whatever it's called, great! I'll buy it! Oh, wait, but I don't have five thousand pokédollars. All I have is in this wallet, which includes my life-savings..." Shane poured the money on his hands. "It's roughly around three thousand, but..."

Walt grabbed the money, tossed the treasure finder at Shane and quickly ran out from the store, all the while talking incredibly quickly: "Well-I-don't-normally-give-discount-but-this-is-y our-lucky-day-bye!"

Shane stared at his new "Itemfinder" with child-like glee. "Cool!" He grinned at Kris. "And did you see how easily I ripped him off?"

"Um... you?" Kris asked.

"Yeah! This baby will pay itself back quintuple when I find some buried treasure. I really have an itch to go to the Burned Tower now..."

"Well, I'm gonna head to the gym," Kris sighed and rolled her eyes. "Have fun with that."

Worried he might get lost in Ecruteak, Shane reluctantly followed Kris to the Ecruteak Gym. According to a book about Johto Kris was carrying with her, the next gym leader was Kris' favorite: Morty, said to be a mystical, no-nonsense guy who trains ghost-type Pokémon. However, at the gym's entrance, a monk dressed in similar robes as the ones at the Sprout Tower rudely turned Kris and Shane away, explaining Morty had important business at the Burned Tower.

Wanting to meet Morty outside the gym anyway and to try to talk him into battling her without spectators, Kris agreed to Shane's suggestion about heading to the Burned Tower. As Kris followed the navigation instructions on her PokéGear, Shane walked behind her, reading Kris' Johto book out loud:

"'The Burned Tower, formerly known as the Brass Tower, was built in the honor of the silver-colored Pokémon and is, prior to its destruction, was one of the oldest standing buildings in the region. During the most extreme drought in Johto about a hundred and fifty years ago, lightning struck the tower and burned it down almost completely, until a miraculous downpour put out the fire. Three hitherto nameless Pokémon, the legendary beasts, were said to perish in the fire. They only received names after the incident: Raikou, symbolizing the lightning bolt, Entei, the raging blaze, and Suicune, the sudden downpour...' Wait a sec, Suicune's dead?"

"Read on," Kris said.

"'It is said, though not confirmed, that the rainbow-colored Pokémon said to roost on top of the Bell Tower, brought these three Pokémon back to life. The three beasts then disappeared, but are said to still roam around Johto, defending the region from its enemies. The silver-colored Pokémon fled and was never seen again, while the rainbow-colored is said to constantly fly in search of a pure-hearted trainer.' Wow, I can't believe I never knew any of those. I really shouldn't have slept through our school's mythology classes, but some teachers can really make even the most interesting topics boring."

"Well, it's fun to believe in this kind of stuff I guess," Kris said vaguely.

"Duh!" Shane said. "I mean, I should I know, I saw Suicune once!"

"Yeah, good for y... what?"

Kris stopped and turned around and Shane almost bumped into Kris, who grabbed Shane by the shoulders.

"You... you saw Suicune?" she asked almost manically. "When? Tell me!"

"Hey, that hurts!" Shane whined and struggled to get away from Kris' grip – Kris seemed to realize what she was doing and let go of Shane, looking apologetic. "Sheesh, you could have asked this sooner. Anyway, it was back in Kanto, during my ongoing hero's crusade against Neo Team Rocket and their devilishly ingenious leader, Petrel. If I remember it right, I had a pretty big argument with The Joker about it, as well as about this glowing bird thingymabob I saw one night..."

"Oh," Kris sighed. "For a moment I thought you had actually seen it..." she continued walking. "Come on."

After a couple dozen 'are we there yet?'s from Shane, the duo arrived to the Burned Tower. It was indeed a depressing sight: built on a small hill, only the first floor of the tower had survived the fire, and even then it was badly charred and full of holes. The roof of the first floor was entirely missing, too. As Kris and Shane climbed up the hill, they saw several little signs scattered all over the place, some warning about the dangers in the tower and others warning against befouling an ancient landmark.

Kris opened the wooden door carefully, expecting the place to collapse at any minute. The first floor of the tower was very bright thanks to the lack of a roof. There were collapsed wooden support beams and piles of debris everywhere, as well as holes in the floor. The biggest hole was in the middle, opening an enormous, dark pit, the bottom of it most likely being the basement floor, but for whatever reason, it was too dark to see what was at the bottom.

There were two men in the "tower". The gym leader, Morty, as a very tall, stoic-looking man with remarkably handsome features. Morty had blonde hair and purple-brown eyes, and he wore a purple scarf as well as a purple bandanna, along with some very stylish clothes. It was easy to see why he was so popular. The other man, who seemed to be quietly arguing with him, was at least five inches shorter (still taller than Kris and Shane), with slick brown hair. He wore a strange, purple suit and, inexplicably, a white cape.

"Eusine!" Shane gasped and pointed at the purple-suited man.

Kris knew it already, having seen him on TV regarding the Suicune mystery. What Kris didn't expect, however, was Eusine's reaction.

"Hey, it's... you!" Eusine said, pointing right back at Shane. "The... guy. From Kanto. I gave him my Rail Pass," Eusine told Morty. "See, I told you, I'm a perfectly nice guy!"

"I know you far too well to believe you," Morty remarked and stepped forward to greet Kris and Shane. "Welcome! I'm Morty, the gym leader! Tourists, I assume? Sorry, but we're not open to audience yet. We just started investigating this place today. For years, we've been cleaning the rubble and making sure it's safe to walk in here, and even then, something bad could happen and our insurance doesn't cover that."

"You know Eusine?" Kris asked Shane, being impressed with the idiot for the first time and frustrated that he never once mentioned it.

"I told you, didn't I?" Shane said. "You!" he said to Morty. "You're also a member of the Legendary Pokémon Society, aren't you?"

This question clearly caught Morty off-guard, but he was still quick to react, glaring at Eusine. "That was a real nice secret society we had once," he grumbled at Eusine.

"Are you blaming _moi_?" Eusine gasped. "Morty, my dear friend, after all we've been through together! It was Lance who insisted on babbling about it to some random village idiot!"

"_You know Lance_?" Kris asked, her eyes widened. "Seriously, what?"

"Of course I do," Shane smiled. "We were a pair of handsome renegade adventurers, he and... me. We even had a bromance going on, if not more... but fate tore us apart like two halves of an Oreo... and destiny was free to lick off that white stuff in the middle... man, I'm hungry..."

"I just spoke to Lance a couple of days ago and he never mentioned you," Morty said. "And it's not like him to tell people about the society... he normally takes secrecy very seriously... come to think of it, he was even more laconic than usual last time..."

"Guy needs to take a break," Eusine scoffed. "Can you believe what he told me that one time? Said that I'm not even a real member, but still a 'trainee' or whatever. Jerk."

"You _are_ a trainee, Eusine, and the champion doesn't take breaks," Morty said coldly. "Not only that, but with the freelance work he does for the International Police and the hours he has worked for the society, I'm surprised he still has time to sleep..."

"Guys?" Kris cut in. "Um, what's the Legendary Pokémon Society?"

Morty glared at Eusine one last time before he reluctantly explained it: "A small, elite group of highly skilled individuals from all over the world who have banded together to investigate the behavior of legendary Pokémon and stop people from attempting to abuse their power. I'm their treasurer and along with the Wise Trio, I take care of our headquarters here in Ecruteak."

"Ooh, ooh!" Shane raised his hand and jumped up and down. "Does Lance call the shots? He does seem like a strong, leader-ly type."

"He's very high up in our hierarchy and one of the founding members, but he's not the leader," Morty explained. "Our leader is a high-ranking member of the Brotherhood who commands well over a hundred monks here in Johto. He's currently away, I'm afraid."

"Fine, send him a text," Shane said impatiently. "Ask him if I can join? I mean, I've been on this stinking journey for almost two months now. Why else do you think I came this far?"

"You?" Kris sounded offended when she heard Shane's true motives. "Screw him," she said harshly as she stepped between Shane and Morty, facing the gym leader. "Let me join! I know the papers claim that Kurt and some Azaleans saved the Slowpoke from Team Rocket three days ago, but it was really me! I can prove it by reminiscing fondly!"

"No," Morty told Kris. "And no," he told Shane. "And I don't need to consult our leader. Were you even listening? What kind of elite club would be we if we let every Jane and Joe Shmoe join us? No offense. All I'm asking you to do is keep quiet about the society before the whole world knows. In return, you can join us in investigating the tower."

"Deal!" Kris and Shane said simultaneously – both were disappointed, but they worked with what they could get. "Um, investigate what exactly?" Kris wondered.

"I'm sure you are familiar with the Suicune murder mystery that's been the hot button topic on online forums recently," Morty said. "Lots of cursing, spelling errors and jumping into conclusions there, by the way. We – well, Eusine, mostly – believe that it's innocent, especially because, if the legends are indeed true, then after 150 years of protecting Johto from danger, the beasts should return here to rest for five decades to gather their strength. Well, earlier this year was the 150th "anniversary" of the destruction of this tower, so... I guess we have to start looking. But be careful, this place is a potential deathtrap."

Morty handed flashlights to Kris and Shane.

"Hmm, there's only three..."

"Well, me and Kris can-" Shane said, but Kris interrupted:

"I'll go with Mr. Dress-for-less here," she remarked, pointing at Eusine with her thumb.

"All right, you two head left," Morty said. "Bane, you head right. I'll stay here and try to see if there's any trap doors or secret staircases... the Bell Tower is full of 'em."

Shane obediently headed to a pathway between piles of stone and wooden rubble, walking on the edges of the big hole in the floor. Soon realizing that Kris, Eusine and Morty were quickly out of sight, he started shuddering at the prospect of walking towards the shadowy corners of the tower alone. Shane quickly turned his flashlight on and opened one of his Poké Balls, sending Shrew out. The little Sandshrew was curled up in a ball, sleeping, but quickly woke up realizing it was out.

"Sorry to disturb your nap, buddy," Shane said, talking quietly and softly for some reason. "But I need your help in case things turn ugly."

Shrew nodded, but when it saw a humongous shadow of a spider on the wall, it squealed in terror and curled into a ball again. Shane looked wildly around him, but merely saw a little Spinarak crawling on a rock behind him, his flashlight having accidentally cast the shadow. Shane sighed.

"Shrew, get a grip," Shane said, but Shrew remained curled up tightly, prompting Shane to sigh. "If only I knew what was wrong with you. How did you become such a scaredy-pangolin anyway?"

"_Should be obvious to anyone with half a brain_," a harsh voice mocked from the shadows, startling Shane. "_You're supposedly its master, aren't you? No big news your little Pokémon has turned out like you. It hasn't even evolved!"_

Suddenly Shane felt like curling to a ball himself, but failing to do that, he grabbed the Shrew-ball in his arms and looked wildly around him, looking for the source of the voice. His question was soon answered when Silver marched up to him, emerging from the shadows, scowling as usual.

"I mean, the way you fainted back at the Slowpoke Well truly set a heroic example," Silver said. "Not that I would consider beating Team Rocket a feat. Sure, they act all tough in a group, but pull them apart and they're weak."

"We get it already," Shane said, relieved to find out it was only Silver. "You hate weak people. You're a... something-ist. But... hang on, have you been stalking us?"

"Well, maybe... but not _you_," Silver admitted sheepishly. "But back at the well, I was trying to find a way to bring Team Rocket down. You probably didn't notice me 'cause I was... skulking."

"Yeah, you do that a lot," Shane said. "I don't think you were there to rescue those poor Pokémon, though. Did you follow us here, too?"

"Hey, I was here first," Silver said. "Before those two other guys, even. You thought I've never broken into buildings before? I came here looking for legendary Pokémon, but this place is a dump...

"Oh yeah," Shane said, "and now that we're here, how about returning that poor ol' Chikorita you stole, huh?"

"Gee, I would if I could," Silver said, faking a remorseful tone as he opened one of the four Poké Balls on his belt – a Pokémon quite like Chikorita came out, only it was yellow instead of pale green, and larger than Chikorita was. "But, as you can see, the course of evolution did its job. Say hello to Bayleef. Guess I can't return it anymore, huh?"

Shane stared at the Bayleef. The lead on its head still hung sadly and there seemed to be some fresh cuts and bruises on it. And yet, whatever Silver had done to it... it had evolved. Shrew and Croc hadn't. Wanting nothing more than to punch Silver's frowny face, Shane took a step towards him.

"...you bast-"

"Bayleef, Headbutt!" Silver ordered.

It hesitated for a second, but as Shane got close, Bayleef headbutted Shane right in the stomach, sending him tumbling on the floor... which then collapsed underneath him and sent him plummeting to the basement below. Squealing in terror, Shrew jumped after him, leaving Silver wondering what had just happened.

"Hmph, now you fell in some hole," Silver snarled. "Some genius you are. Come on, Bayleef."

_**On the other side of the tower...**_

During Shane and Silver's confrontation, Kris and Eusine were searching the other side of the first floor. In this case, "searching" meant pointing their flashlights at things and occasionally digging through some rubble. Well, Kris dug, as Eusine didn't want to get his white gloves dirty.

"Uh... so," Kris said after a long, awkward silence while lazily perusing through some rubble. "I, uh, saw you on TV a while back."

"Well, you're only human," Eusine sighed. "This is booooring," he complained. "Why would Suicune come to a dump like this?"

"Yeah, speaking of which," Kris said curiously, "aren't you a sort of Suicune expert?"

"_The_ Suicune expert," Eusine proclaimed. "I've studied it all my life. As a kid, I was the president, secretary and treasurer of a highly exclusive Suicune fan club."

"Oh yeah?" Kris said. "Bet you're not even half the Suicune fan I am! You should have seen my room – full of Suicune posters and figures and a plushie!"

"Pfft, that's nothing. In my teen years, I would spend hours in my room looking at pictures of Suicune. I had all the books ever written about it. My dad thought I was looking at porn... some of it admittedly was, though, but I had no idea how those got into the mix. Eventually my dad told our butler to burn it all..."

"Okay, so you're a casual fan," Kris acknowledged. "But last night, I had a dream about Suicune, where..." Kris blushed and looked away from Eusine. "Uh, how did we get to this? I was supposed to ask... have you ever actually, um, seen the thing? In real life?"

"Do hallucinations count as real life?" Eusine asked.

"No!"

"Hmm, then let me think... no. But that's the thing. _No one_ has seen Suicune in real life, no one who's alive at the moment, anyway. Sure, your friend Simon _claims_ to have seen it, but then again, he's clearly a few wheels short of a unicycle."

"I've seen it..." Kris muttered under her breath, wanting to avoid mockery. "Well, I'm pretty sure those people it supposedly killed saw it... if you believe it did it, that is."

"But I don't," Eusine said confidently. "And even in the impossible, hypothetical case that it had, they wouldn't have seen it, because it would have shredded them to ribbons before they noticed anything but a blue blur, for it moves with such grace that-"

"Okay, yeah," Kris said quickly. "I honestly think there's a conspiracy behind there. Not sure of the motives, though..."

"Conspiracy, yeah right," Eusine scoffed. "More like some idiotic 'witnesses' who made the Suicune thing up just to get on the news to improve their sad little lives. But I admit this whole thing has generated some pretty disturbing conversation and anti-Pokémon sentiment in some circles... it hasn't been like this since the war, I heard..."

"Shh!"

Kris heard something from a distance – clearly something collapsing and a terrified scream, followed by a familiar, high-pitched squeal.

"That sounded like Shrew!" Kris said.

**~o~O~o~**

In the basement about twenty-five feet below the first floor, Shrew was desperately shaking its master to wake him up, but nothing seemed to work. The basement's floor was made of wood, with old carpets and pieces of leather and fabric littered everywhere, neatly softening Shane's fall, but still knocking him out. With no other way to get him up, Shrew swiped Shane's face with its claws, finally getting a reaction out of him... along with some blood.

"Mmh... oww!" Shane whined. "That's gonna leave a mark... cool! Thanks, Shrew. Now people will finally treat me with some respect, seeing my battle scars and all..."

Shane looked up at the big hole that was now in the ceiling. Somehow, the daylight didn't quite illuminate the basement enough, causing Shane to be surrounded by darkness. He groaned as he got up, rubbing his backside. Though Fernando's Ditto had carried him in its mouth a little while when it was disguised as his Golbat, there was no way it could fly him all the way up there. Though together with his Magneton, it probably could...

But Shane was too captivated by his surroundings. It was impossible to tell, but the basement seemed very large, possibly teeming with mystical items, ancient texts and the like. Shane took his newly purchased treasure finder from his bag... only to find that it had been badly twisted during landing. Placing it back in the bag, Shane instead flicked on his flashlight.

What he saw next froze his blood.

About five yards away from Shane, apparently hibernating, were two massive, four-legged Pokémon. One was a brown, lion-like Pokémon covered in thick fur and armor plating and had a head shaped like a samurai helmet. The other one was yellow and tiger-like, skinnier and with smoother fur. Its stripes resembled lightning bolts and it had vicious-looking fangs. The two seemed to sleep while standing, except that a couple of seconds after Shane turned on his light, they opened their eyes simultaneously.

Shane almost had a heart attack when the two beasts leaped forward, then jumped incredibly high, escaping through the hole in the ceiling. And with that, Shane fainted again.

This time, he was faster to recover, and Shrew didn't have to maul his face. There was lots of noise coming from behind him, and soon enough, parts of the wall on the side of the room crumbled, revealing a hidden staircase. Kris, Eusine and Morty, the latter carrying a sledgehammer, rushed into the room, though they all ignored Shane laying on the floor and instead ran to the spot where beasts fled from.

"I can't believe this!" Eusine asked, a delirious grin on his face. "Two legendary Pokémon! So it's true! They really have chosen me! That split-second moment when Entei and stopped and looked at me, it's like it stared right into my soul! I really _am_ the chosen one!"

"We _all_ saw them, Eusine!" Kris countered. "And it didn't even look at you, it almost stepped on your head." Kris almost stepped over Shane as she rushed towards the pit where the beasts had been. "Shane, why are you sleeping down here?" To her credit, however, she pulled him back on his feet.

Morty was less enthusiastic over the event, however.

"Only two of them," he muttered and turned to look at Eusine. "Suicune wasn't here."

"Hey, that proves nothing!" Eusine snapped.

"It doesn't," Morty agreed contemplatively, staring at what seemed to be traces of Entei's fur, "but it's the worst thing that could have happened to someone trying to clear its name. Like it or not, Eusine, we're gonna have to report back to the leader about this. Eusine?"

Morty and Kris looked behind them, Shane continuing to stare at nothing in a trance. Eusine had disappeared.

"Oh, he does that a lot," Morty said casually. "I must admit, though, that your presence really did help not only our work, but gave me a chance to see two of the three legendary beasts in person. I have to thank you for that. If there's anything besides letting you join the society that I can-"

"Gym!" Kris said quickly. "Battle! With me! Oh, but, since we helped you and all, I have a few requests. No spectators! He can watch," Kris pointed at Shane, "but other than that, I don't want any gawkers."

Morty nodded. "As you wish," he said. "We only need a referee to make it an official Pokémon League Gym Battle. My only condition is that we battle at my gym. I'll clear out the gym trainers and other staff beforehand, though."

"Deal!" Kris belted. "I can't see why I wouldn't agree to that."

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Ecruteak City Gym, Ecruteak City, Johto**_

"Why did I agree to this?" Kris quaked.

It seems Morty was a man who liked his home field advantage. His gym was the most bizarre Kris had ever seen. If it wasn't for Shane casually sitting on the sidelines with Shrew, having gotten past his near-catatonic funk, Kris would have thought she was dreaming. The whole battlefield – walls, floors, the ceiling, everything – was invisible, making it seem like Kris, Morty and the referee were floating in space, with stars, planet, black holes, nebulae and utterly bizarre but colorful cosmic phenomena all around them. That was definitely enough to make Kris feel off-balance.

"Since this is an unusual match, let's keep the rules simple, shall we?" Morty announced from the opposite end of the battlefield. "One Poké Ball each, no switching, time limit of thirty minutes. Got it?"

Kris closed her eyes and kept repeating herself that the "space" around her was just an illusion that she needed to focus.

After a while, she breathed deep and opened her eyes again. "Got it," she said firmly.

"All right, Kris, whoo!" Shane cheered. "Now, he uses ghost-types, remember! And you recently caught a little bird with a rather convenient typing, didn't you? Well, you know what to do."

"Yes, I do," Kris said quietly. "Croc, go!"

Shane and Shrew slapped their foreheads in unison as Kris sent out her Totodile, who predictably did a little dance routine once it got out. Kris, however, would have none of it this time. She had three badges already – a flippant Totodile would not be the boss of her.

"Croc!" she yelled at the Totodile, who actually stopped dancing for a while to listen. "Good, I got your attention! You listen to me if you want me to keep feeding and taking care of you! I'm your master, you do as I say, got it? Good!"

Morty was surprised by this development, but wasted no time wondering what that was about as he sent out his Pokémon. "Gengar, go!"

Morty sent out a small, dark-purple ghost-type with a round, spiky body, short, stubby limbs and a sinister grin on its face. Totodile seemed to be discouraged from dancing at the sight of it, instead it started shivering.

"Get a grip, Croc!" Kris commanded. "It's just another Pokémon!"

"Shadow Claw!" Morty yelled.

Gengar's claws became surrounded by a purple aura as it ran towards Totodile with incredible speed, leaving Kris little time to react before Totodile had already been struck, sending the Pokémon flying a few feet back.

"Retaliate, Croc!" Kris ordered. "Headbutt!"

The Totodile attacked, but with its own move, instead trying to swipe the Gengar with its claws. But as it approached Gengar, its attack passed right through the Gengar's gaseous body, causing the Totodile's jaw to drop.

"I'm disappointed, Kris!" Morty remarked coldly. "You should know by now that normal-type attacks-"

"They don't work on ghosts, yeah," Kris said impatiently. "I forgot, damn it!"

"Kris, tell it to use Bite!" Shane yelled from the sidelines.

"No I won't!" Kris yelled back. "I.. didn't you hear what I just said?"

"Yeah, but Bite isn't a Normal-type move!" Shane countered. "It's Dark-type now!"

"Oh... really?"

Morty decided he had wasted enough time waiting for Kris to make her move. "Gengar, Shadow Ball!"

Gengar formed a shadowy blob of energy between its hands, then launched it towards Totodile. This time, Kris was quick to react:

"Send it back with Water Gun!"

For once, Totodile did as told, spitting water towards the Shadow Ball with enormous pressure, sending the blob flying back towards the sender. But was quick to jump out of the way, and Morty was just as quick to retaliate:

"Hypnosis!"

In a manner all to familiar to Kris, Gengar fired colorful rings towards Totodile, who, despite Kris' order, had no time to dodge. Soon enough, Gengar held Totodile in a kind of trance, causing Totodile to stagger around in confusion. Morty wasn't satisfied with that, however.

"Good, Gengar!" he said. "Now, Dream Eater!"

Gengar launched a shadow-like copy of itself towards Totodile. As the shadow made contact with it, it was like Croc was sucked out of its energy. It cringed, its eyes rolled on the back of its head, and then, it fell down unconscious.

Kris recalled her Totodile, utterly devastated. She barely heard the referee announcing Morty's victory. The fight had lasted about five minutes, and during that time, Kris had acted in the most incompetent, unprofessional way a Pokémon trainer could – and that stung a lot more than the loss.

Morty, however, was a good sport about it, offering Kris some advice on how to do better next time. And with that, Kris and Shane left the gym, Shrew still recovering from its ordeal on Shane's shoulders.

"Uh... sorry about the loss," Shane said awkwardly, like he was unsure whether to mock or comfort and if he could do either anyway. "But hey, you know, better luck next time, right? Are you going to stay here and try again tomorrow, or...?"

Kris stared at the sky as she answered, her voice oddly even despite the loss: "No. I'll be coming back here at some point anyway. I think I'll head to Olivine City next, try my luck at the gym there. The most important thing is to keep moving. Only three weeks left before the Conference."

Kris turned to look at Shane.

"So..." she said slowly. "I'm guessing there are no relatives who are coming to pick you up?"

Shane gasped. "You dare to accuse me of lying?" he barked dramatically. "Me? Lying? _Me_? Well, yeah, actually, you're right, I lied. But I dunno... if the leader guy of the society isn't here at the moment and that Morty guy isn't letting me join, then what's the point?"

"You should have been honest with me," Kris said plainly. "But then, there are things I haven't told you, either. I'm not on this trip just to get to the Silver Conference on time, though that is my main goal. But I also want to do what that crazy cape-guy is doing – prove that Suicune didn't kill those people. If the creature from those myths is real, it just couldn't. And from what we've seen today, it _is _real."

"Wha... really? All this time, I... I didn't know you were obsessed with legendaries too!"

"I wouldn't say 'obsessed'..."

"This is great!" Shane belted enthusiastically. "We have, like, similar goals! We can help each other out! And I can still be your arms bearer, right? Because, trust me, I've seen enough of your battles to be sure: you're gonna be one awesome Pokémon trainer."

"If only I was as naïve as you," Kris said quietly, though she smiled as she said it. "But... are you saying you want to stick along?"

"Well, yeah!"

"And what makes you think I'll let you?" Kris countered scathingly. "We had an agreement. I promised to get you to Ecruteak in one piece, and by some miracle, I managed to do that, delaying my own trip with several days."

Shane's enthusiastic smile slowly faded while Shrew's ears drooped sadly.

"On the other hand," Kris said with a sly smile, "you haven't been entirely useless and I still need five badges in three weeks. That seems like a daunting task to do alone, but maybe you could actually be of help..."

The smile returned on Shane's face gradually in a highly creepy way, but before he started cheering, Kris interrupted him:

"I didn't agree to anything yet!" she said. "If you could get yourself killed, blame yourself. I have too much on my hands to babysit you: the badges, getting to places with no money, Lyra, Silver, my obsession with Suicune... and believe me, if we ever see those Team Rocket chumps again, I'm just gonna ignore them. I know that I'm going to regret this, but... yeah, you can tag along."

"YES!" Shane cheered, raising his fist in the air and almost causing Shrew to drop. "Now, if I'm going to be your arms bearer or whatever, I'm entitled to give you some tips, and I know something about Pokémon battling – I did watch a movie about that once. Anyway, that moment you told Totodile to use Headutt was _sooo_ dumb, I mean even a five-year old could..."

_Definitely feeling the regret here_.

* * *

**_A/N: Thanks to everyone who has taken to time to read, favorite, alert or review the story. All feedback, positive or negative, is appreciated, but if you can't think of anything, that's fine. Next up will be "His Master's Voice", where Giratina finally makes its move..._**


	14. His Master's Voice

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN: "_HIS MASTER'S VOICE_**"

_**Location: A mountaintop in Fiore**_

A Pokémon sat in a lotus position on one of the tallest mountains in northern Fiore. Sitting with its eyes closed, the large, purple, bipedal, cat-like Pokémon ignored the harsh winds that would have blown a lesser Pokémon away. For a week, Mewtwo had sat there, attempting to get its thoughts together, trying to remember... but the five years it had spent in the Cerulean Cave had taken a toll. Days had bled together, memories were fleeting, and all it could remember was a tiny voice at the back of its head, saying something.

"..._don't be sad, Mewtwo. You should be happy. You're alive, and life is wonderful…"_

This had played in Mewtwo's mind for years, and for the last week, it wouldn't go away, it didn't even leave him any time to rest. But he couldn't remember where it had come from, or what it meant. Of all things, 'wonderful' wasn't a phrase Mewtwo would describe its life now. Not yet, anyway.

But Mewtwo could feel it wasn't alone. Someone had taken the trouble to follow it all the way over there. As it slowly opened its eyes, its irises glowed bright blue for a moment before settling to their usual purple color.

Dozens of little Pokémon were floating around the mountain. They were black, letter-shaped with one large, lidless eye each. And as they floated, they emitted a familiar high-pitched sound.

"_Uuuunoooownnnn..._"

This sound was immediately followed by a deeper, calmer and most of all, louder, voice, that seemed to echo in Mewtwo's head.

"Here you are..." the voice said. "I hope you are well rested. The humans definitely got you for a moment. Sent you in here to think about all the bad things you did, hmm? You heard them scheming when you were inside that ball... and now you have the chance to make them pay for that."

Mewtwo stood up. "_Tell me what to do_."

"Ready for battle like I hoped," the voice said. "I'm sorry I have delayed the start of our plan for so long, but not, finally, you will know the reason for your existence. You're needed in the region of Johto, several hundred miles west from where you were born."

"_Why?_"

"He's there. The man who you can blame for your existence, who tore you away from Mew and let you suffer in that test tube, ready to be sold to slavery. So are the others who conspired against you. Go to him, and show no mercy."

Mewtwo didn't pause for a second. "_How do I get there?_"

"You don't know your own strength yet. That is why the humans were able to capture you. They used machines against you, sneaky as usual. First, focus on getting there. See the destination in your mind. You're the most powerful Pokémon in the world, Mewtwo... you will get there. Once you're there, make sure to gather your strength... and do _not_ let yourself be captured again. When you have cleared that obstacle from your way, we'll be ready to form an army you can lead against all of them, every human and every Pokémon willing to stand by their side..."

The voice faded away and the floating little Pokémon disappeared as well. Mewtwo closed its eyes, concentrating. At first, there was nothing, just white noise. Slowly, it turned to a blurry picture of a lush, green forest... and then the outline of a bald, mustached man wearing sunglasses and a lab coat.

And the, in a flash of blue light, Mewtwo was on its way.

**~o~O~o~**

_**Location: Moomoo Farm, Route 39, Johto**_

_Shane's log, Day 53: "Two weeks and four days 'till the Silver Conference begins and we're on our way to Olivine City. Yes, my dear dia-I-mean-journal, I used 'we'. I'm traveling with a Pokémon Trainer, an actual trainer with actual badges. Well, only three, and she's pretty bad, actually, but I _know_ she's on the road to greatness._"

Shane leaned on a fence as he wrote. It was a beautiful, warm afternoon as the traveling duo took a break from Kris' Pokémon training and Shane's not-that-helpful training tips. They were relaxing near the Moomoo Farm, a Miltank ranch over at the beautiful Johto countryside. While Kris was immediately frustrated at the sight of Miltank, she was willing to let it go to get some relaxing done. Shane, on the other hand, was enjoying watching the Miltank lounge around on the pastures, though when he had asked about the purpose of the farm, Kris said something vague about milk, not having the hear to tell Shane where the contents of his sandwich came from. Though just the revelation that Shane was drinking stuff from a Pokémon's boobs seemed to unsettle him a bit.

For now, Shane stopped writing for a bit to and watched as Kris leaned on a tree a few yards away, polishing the GS Ball and feeding Shane's Sandshrew some of her Pokémon food – Shane had already squandered all of his money. Shane smiled as he noticed how well Kris and Shrew seemed to get along as he continued writing.

"Shane, what exactly are you writing there?" Kris asked suddenly.

"Nothing!" Shane yelled quickly. "I mean, uh... novel! Yeah! Not a diary at all! Why would you even be suggesting that? Shame on you!"

"Relax," Kris laughed and went back to polishing the GS Ball. "Nothing wrong with writing a diary. See, while I was cooped up in my parents' basement, well... I had a lot of time on my hands. I wrote a lot... diary, angry forum posts... and, uh, stories..."

"Stories?"

"Yeah, uh..." Kris fiddled with her polishing rag nervously. "You know, I was younger and... well, there were a lot of stories involving a Pokémon trainer surprisingly similar to me – except that I took huge paragraphs to describe her clothes and she was more... well, anyway, a fairly romanticized view of Pokémon training. Man, reality hits you hard."

Shane nodded thoughtfully and added something to his latest entry:

"_Addendum: Good Arceus almighty, I'm traveling with a nerd. Well, we'll see how it goes. Not that I have anything against nerds, but you'll never see me becoming one. __Now, in the next entry I'm going to describe those super-awesome elf coach cards I found from a puddle."_

Shane slammed his diary shut and looked at Kris, who was still polishing the ball even though she could see her reflection from it.

"You know, you'll rub the gold plating off soon," Shane remarked. "Hey, let me carry it for a while!"

"Um, no," Kris said. "We need to deliver this. Remember granny's farm or whatever it was! And you'd lose it just like you lose everything else you touch! Like that itemfinder you were swindled into buying."

"Not swindled, _conned," _Shane said proudly. "And that's not true. Now, where did I put my pencil..."

Satisfied with the results, Kris wrapped the GS Ball with some tissue paper and carefully placed it in one of the empty pockets in her bag. Breathing deep, she leaned against the tree and looked at where Shrew was running. A little away from the duo, their Pokémon were playing. Shrew was chasing after Kris' Murkrow. Shane's Poliwhirl was having a practice brawl with Magneton, who was a useful training opponent thanks to its steel body. Kris' Noctowl and Shane's Golbat were sleeping on the tree branch and Kris' Misdreavus was randomly floating about. Only Totodile was still in its Poké Ball, as it didn't know how to play nice.

"Tell me the truth," Kris said suddenly. "Did you really meet Lance?"

"You talking to me?" Shane asked, surprised.

"No, I was talking to your Sandshrew, we often have very insightful conversations. Who else?"

"Yeah, Shrew's met 'im," Shane said cheerfully and Kris rolled her eyes. "And so have I, really."

"Well... what was he like?" Kris asked, trying to play it cool. "Was he as awesome as people say?"

"Yes, and more," Shane said. "Very open personality, smiles and jokes a lot, was _this_ close to letting me join the Society, but said his boss would give him trouble for it. We had a lot of fun along with my other friends from Kanto."

"Friends," Kris said. "_You_. Friends. Elaborate."

"Oh yeah, dozens of 'em," Shane boasted. "Like, uh... um... this guy, Tommy... I think he raised ground-type Pokémon or something... and uh, Leaf... yeah, that's her name, I know, weird... some sort of science-y type... person. We battled Team Rocket together. Oh, and there was also Blaine, a gym leader. We also bought Team Rocket side by side, and it was us who made the Cerulean Cave collapse when were out looking for a... uh, this legendary Pokémon. You wouldn't know it."

"Yeah, okay," Kris deadpanned and closed her eyes with a deep sigh. "Well, your rather creative imagination aside, it's good to relax once in a while..."

"It really is, I've been breaking my back with all this hard labor. Say, Kris, don't _you_ have any friends?"

"Have you met me?" Kris countered.

"...yes? Oh, wait, was that a trick question? Then... yes."

"Lyra is the only person I could feasibly call my friend," Kris explained, "and it's been many years since that held true. But hey, they just hold you back, you know? You can't expect me to get anywhere in the Pokémon league if I have to be helping some _friend_ out with some trivial problem, right?"

Shane shrugged. "I guess... well, hey, I can be your friend! Wouldn't that be fun?"

"No."

"Okay, so I'll just be a guy who follows you around and takes notes. You really should consider trying t make more friends, though. Let's see, uh, hmm... oh, I think you'd like Leaf if you met her! You have a lot in common. You're both female, carbon-base lifeforms entering the rough adulthood... oh, and both your names have four letters... right? C... Y... Q...?"

Kris stopped listening to Shane's half-baked ramblings. Her attention was focused on Shrew, who stopped chasing after Murkrow. It stopped on its tracks, freezing completely as its ears popped right up. Then, it stood on its hind legs for a while. Noticing this too, Shane watched with interest.

Then, without warning, Shrew started running away, heading into the woods nearby incredibly quickly. It took some time for Shane to process what had happened, but eventually he stood up, grabbed his bag and ran after the Pokémon.

"Take care of the other ones!" he yelled at Kris. "I'll be right back! Shrew! Wait!"

"Don't be long!" Kris reminded. "I'm supposed to be leaving towards Olivine in one hour! You hear me?"

But Shane was too far away and too wrapped up in chasing Shrew to hear anything. Kris folded her arms and watched as Shane disappeared into the woods too. What exactly had driven Shrew to do that?

**~o~O~o~**_  
_

Shrew ran as fast as it could, jumping over rocks and logs as it dashed through the forest, scaring away many bird Pokémon. Somehow, it knew exactly where it was headed, hearing an echoing voice inside its head:

"_Shreeeew... Shreeewww... over here..._"

Shrew didn't care how the voice got in its head, how it knew where to go and how it had managed to contact it. It was a familiar voice to the little Sandshrew, despite it not having heard it in almost a year. Yet, it couldn't mistaken the soothing, irresistible voice for anything else.

Suddenly, strong, sticky vines appeared out of nowhere and wrapped themselves around Shrew, quickly stopping his momentum. Shrew struggled against them, attempting to cut them apart with its claws, wasting no time wondering where they came from, but the vines were stronger and soon wrapped themselves around Shrew entirely before dragging it away.

Shrew quickly found itself in a clearing just a few yards away from the path. Dozens of Spearow and Murkrow stared down on him from the trees, while a gang of four Pokémon, all larger than Shrew, had the frightened Sandshrew cornered. This time, Shrew didn't want to waste time curling up, shivering or acting scared. It had places to be in.

The four Pokémon that stared at Shrew's struggling were a Granbull, an Emolga, a Gligar and a Tangela, the latter's vines keeping Shrew in place. The Granbull, a bipedal, dog-like Pokémon with a pronounced lower jaw and humongous vans, smirked as it watched Shrew's struggling.

"No use!" the Granbull barked. "You're right where want ya now. The more you resist, the harder Tangela will squeeze."

Shrew stopped struggling, but Tangela just lifted It off the air and the slammed it on the ground. Shrew landed on its belly, the air knocked out of it, leaving it coughing for a while. The bird Pokémon watching above cawed and screeched at him in sadistic glee. As Shrew opened its eyes, watching Granbull stand right above it, the Sandshrew's response was to stare back in defiance.

"You think I don't have more important places to be right now?" Shrew wheezed as Tangela's vines wrapped around its body more tightly. "I don't really care what you guys want. If it's a battle, forget it. If you want to mug me, you've got the wrong target. And if you wanted to kill me, you'd have done it already. So what gives?"

"He doesn't remember, as I suspected," said the Emolga – the little rodent-like Pokémon who was the smallest and least threatening of the bunch, though it was still larger than Shrew. The Emolga's voice, however, was cold, contemptuous and dripping with hate. "And looks like he hasn't changed from those days."

"Yeah, he hasn't," Granbull growled. "And his idea wasn't half bad. I say we finish him off right away!"

The Gligar took this advice to heart, snapping its pincers as it lunged towards Shrew, but Emolga stepped between.

"Not yet!" the squirrel Pokémon argued. "And rest assured, Granbull, I will discuss this with the commander. She'll be most displeased if she's robbed of a chance to settle the score."

"What in Hades are you guys babbling about?" Shrew coughed. "If you're in the middle of something, I can go and-"

But Shrew's plea was interrupted by a squeal of pain as Tangela lifted Sandshrew in the air, flipped it around and slammed it on the ground again, this time on its back. With its unprotected underbelly exposed, Tangela whipped it with its vines. Shrew closed its eyes and grit its teeth, but didn't let out even the softest squeal.

"Hey!" Emolga snapped. "Not quite yet, I promise that you'll get your turn, Tangela, but we need to get going. The humans will be here any minute."

"Hah, let 'em come!" said the Gligar, its voice raspy and its tongue hanging strangely. "I've waited long enough! Bring them on, I say!"

"Oh, shut up!" Emolga said. "And help Tangela carry this waste of air to the commander."

Gligar snarled at the Emolga, but for whatever reason, did as it told anyway, harshly grabbing Shrew with its pincers, ignoring the fact they were digging into its flesh. Emolga flew ahead as Tangela and Gligar, carrying the confused Shrew, followed Granbull away from the clearing.

As they walked to a deeper, darker part of the forest in complete silence, Shrew tried to look around him. Dozens of wild Pokémon, Rattata, Raticate, Sentret, Furret, Ekans, Meowth and the like were watching the group's progress, as were the flocks of Spearow and Murkrow, many gloating, others just plainly observing, some just quietly hanging their heads as the group walked by. A couple of Sentret tried to get closer to Shrew, but promptly ran away when Gligar hissed at them.

Finally, the group arrived to a more isolated part of the forest. Gligar and Tangela threw Shrew on the ground roughly, but any plans of escape were preempted by Gligar holding its pincer on Shrew's neck. Emolga flew towards what seemed to be a throne, crudely built from rocks, branches and moss. Two Machop were using gigantic leaves as fans to cool their leader down, also preventing Shrew from seeing them.

"Commander, we have brought him to you," Emolga said smarmily as it bowed. "Finally, you can find respite and we can all move on from our torment."

"Let me see 'im," the leader, unquestionably a Pokémon, said.

The Machop stopped fanning their leader and stepped away, revealing the leader to be badly scarred Zangoose. Large chunk of its white fur was missing and many of its long claws were broken.

"You..." Shrew said slowly.

The Zangoose smiled cruelly.

"...are a complete stranger to me," Shrew admitted.

Zangoose's smile faded and she closed her eyes, preventing herself from sinking its claws into Shrew's brains. Tangela punished Shrew by whacking it with its vines again.

"AHH! Do you mind?" Shrew snapped and turned to look at this so-called 'commander'. "Look, I don't know what you guys want from me, but you couldn't have chosen a worse timing. I've got a date with a creepy voice in my head!"

"I was afraid he wouldn't remember," Emolga cooed at Zangoose, flying on the armrest of her throne. "He clearly makes no apologies. But he's at your mercy now. He can _finally _pay back for what he did!"

"Did _what_ exactly?" Shrew wondered. "Look, this is a fine little multiracial cult you've gathered here, but I've never met you Pokémon in my life, so unless this is about that couch I stained at the Lavender Volunteer House, then..."

Zangoose stood up and walked towards Shrew. She had no expression on her face, she just stared at Shrew coldly. Gligar backed away from Shrew when it saw Zangoose approaching and even Shrew didn't think of running away. Zangoose picked Shrew up with one paw and used the one good claw from its other paw to stab Shrew in the stomach. Instead of doing it quickly, however, she slowly pushed the claw deeper into Shrew, first through the Sandshrew's skin to make it bleed, then further below. This time, Shrew couldn't just grit its teeth, but it let out a pained shriek that reverberated through the forest.

"Does it hurt?" Zangoose whispered in Shrew's years.

"...yes, mightily," Shrew grunted as the claw sank deeper into his flesh. "Is that all you... _ahh..._wanted... or can I... go?"

"I'm surprised," Zangoose said plainly as it twisted the claw in the wound, making Shrew shriek again. "Surprised you can feel anything anymore. Though I doubt you ever felt anything in the first place, Shrew. That was just a fraction of what _we_ had to go through! You were there, in the middle of it, you knew it just as well as we did it... but you left us there!"

Zangoose pulled the claw slowly away from the wound but still held Shrew in its grip, letting Shrew's blood drip on the ground. Shrew and Zangoose stared at each other and Shrew didn't have any comebacks in store this time. His black eyes widened a little as he seemed to slowly come to a realization...

"It's been little more than a year, Shrew," Zangoose said, "and you've already forgotten? I should have listened to Emolga, but I was willing to believe you felt sorry for what you did."

Zangoose tossed Shrew on the ground, and with the small but deep cut in his stomach, Shrew couldn't run anywhere. But to Shrew's surprise, Tangela waddled towards him and blew some kind of spores at the wound. And, slowly, it started to close up, though the pain still remained. Shrew just stared at Zangoose in confusion, while Zangoose stared back relentlessly.

"...why did you...?"

"We may be running low on time," Zangoose said, "but that's no reason we shouldn't make most of what we have. We want to see _exactly_ how long you can survive."

"If it wasn't for Tangela, we'd have died there," Granbull growled, "but even then we weren't fast enough!"

"I can't help but to wonder," said Emolga, who started flying circles a few feet above Shrew, who still felt severe, burning pain in his stomach. "How much did all the others hurt, hmm? Who defines what is an appropriate amount of pain to punish the likes of you?"

"You... no... you can't be," Shrew mumbled weakly. It tried to stand up, but Tangela slammed it again, sending the little Sandshrew on its knees. "...I thought all of you were dead..."

"You never bothered to find out, did you?" Emolga taunted. "And where is that Cyndaquil skank of yours? Did you abandon her as soon as the going got rough too?"

But Shrew focused its attention on Zangoose, who quietly observed Shrew's pathetic attempts to stand up again.

"...Navel Rock..." Shrew wheezed. "How did you...?"

"For four hundred and thirty-two days, I waited," Zangoose said as it approached Shrew slowly, raising its claw again. "I promised myself, my friends and everyone who died by the hands of the humans at that facility that I'd find you again... so you'll excuse me if I'm a little overwhelmed by everything. Seeing you traveling with those humans, though... I don't even know why I was surprised..."

Zangoose stopped in front of Shrew and slashed his face, making a deep cut on its cheek.

"First, you'll get to feel _everything _we felt," Zangoose said quietly. Granbull took a step towards Shrew, but Zangoose stopped it from coming closer. "Then, we'll pay for the rest. There were hundreds of us, though, but I doubt I'll be bored... I just hope there's still something left inside you to hurt. Otherwise, well, this is just no fun."

**~o~O~o~**

Running along the same path that Shrew ran on, Shane continued his fruitless search for his lost Pokémon. Yelling after it and running around hadn't worked the last fifty times, but it didn't stop Shane from trying. Eventually, he stopped calling after Shrew when he heard noise coming from a stream nearby – obvious Pokémon battle noises.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Shrew. Some kid was battling with a girl wearing overalls – or had battled, as the kid mournfully recalled his unconscious Rattata while the girl patted her Quilava on the head.

"Thanks for the battle, Joey!" she said cheerfully. "If you were a better trainer, you could have even come close to winning."

"Uh, thanks, Lyra," the youngster said. "Say, do you wanna exchange phone numbers?"

"No, actually," Lyra said. "You're a bit too annoying for my tastes. But thanks for the offer! Goodbye!"

The youngster walked away, while Lyra, whistling joyfully as her Quilava walked by her side, walked towards Shane, who didn't have enough time to hide behind a tree before Lyra noticed him.

"Hey, it's... you!" she said. "Kris' buddy, Zeke, right?"

"As close as I can hope, I guess," Shane muttered.

"Care to battle me?" Lyra asked. "Scorch has been on fire today, and I could use the money!"

"Scorch?" Shane wondered as he stared at the Quilava. "I guess Croc isn't the worst nickname you could have... uh, but no, I don't have any money on me, or Pokémon for that matter. Hey, you haven't seen a Sandshrew, have you?"

"Sure I have!" Lyra smiled. "Saw one at the Union Cave and caught it! I now have over fifty Pokémon, by the way."

"Uh... cool," Shane said impatiently. "But I meant, like, today."

"Oh," Lyra said and started to think. "Well, in that case, I... I have...n't. Did you lose your Pokémon, Zach? I sincerely hope you find it. Pokémon shouldn't suffer from the ineptitude of their trainers."

"...thanks?" Shane said, confused by this exchange. "I mean... hey! I mean... I hope I find it, too."

"Mm-hmm."

An awkward silence followed. Shane wasn't sure whether storming off in search of Shrew would be polite while Lyra put her hands in her pockets and started whistling again, staring at the ground while she did so.

"...do you, uh... still travel with Kris?" Lyra asked casually while still staring at the fascinating dirt under her shoes.

"Yeah."

"...cool. How, uh... is she?"

"Oh, she's the same as ever," Shane shrugged.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Lyra said thoughtfully. "But her physical health is good, isn't it? She doesn't have a cold, or a rash, or leprosy?"

"No, I don't think so, not on the parts I can see," Shane said, increasingly weirded out by the conversation. "Why did you ask?"

"What, am I not allowed?" Lyra said defensively. "And... no reason. I just wanted to know she's well. And by that I mean, uh... so I can keep laughing at her expense! Yes! How's her starter? Still hasn't evolved? I made a bet with Ethan, see."

"Yeah, it's still a Totodile. Where is this Ethan guy, anyway?"

"Crap, I guess I owe him eight pokébucks, then. Oh, Ethan? He... he's in Olivine, we already went there to battle the gym leader and stuff, he went to buy ferry tickets so we can go to Cianwood and I'm training here. Yup, that's right, I have five badges now. And Kris doesn't have as many, right?"

"...no, she has three," Shane said. "Look, I really need to find my Pokémon, so..."

Lyra stared at Shane, expecting him to finish his sentence.

"...so I need to... go away," Shane said.

"Oh, okay then," Lyra said and shrugged. "I was getting bored, anyway. Go on, then."

Shane ran past Lyra and her Quilava, while Lyra kept staring after him, biting her lip and clearly on the verge of saying something.

"Say hi to Kris from me!" she yelled finally, though Shane didn't hear as he was calling out to Shrew.

**~o~O~o~**

Meanwhile, back at the Moomoo Farm, Kris leaned on a fence, tapping her foot impatiently. She had already returned all of her and Shane's Pokémon to their Poké Balls, and was now glancing at the clock in her PokéGear every few seconds and groaning every time she realized how much time had passed already and still no sight of Shane.

Bored and frustrated as she was, Kris couldn't help but to wonder what made Shrew act like that. So far, it had been completely content on spending time with her and Shane and being close to anyone else usually made it jittery and gassy. And at no point had Kris seen the Sandshrew run so fast. What was it after?

Kris was snapped out of her boredom when she finally saw a person walking nearby. Though it wasn't Shane, Kris hoped to challenge this passerby, a brown-haired girl distinguishable by a white porkpie hat. About the same as Kris, the girl was preoccupied by her PokéGear-like device that she stared as she walked.

"Umm... hi!" Kris shouted in a faux-cheerful tone to attract the girl's attention.

The girl just kept staring at the machine, as if Kris wasn't even there, so Kris ran towards her.

_Sheesh, so our generation _does_ suck_...

"Hello!" Kris said loudly as she stopped in front of the girl, who finally took the time to look up from her device – and then promptly down, seeing as Kris was several inches shorter than her.

"Umm... hi again," Kris said awkwardly. "I'm Kris, New Bark Town. Uh..."

"Oh, right," the girl said absently and shook hands with Kris. "Leaf, Leaf Greene, Pewter City. Uh, it's in Kanto."

"Nice to... wait. Leaf? You wouldn't... happen to know this guy from Kanto called Shane, would you? Short, blondish, bug-eyed..."

"...hmm, sounds familiar," Leaf mumbled. "I just can't really remember..."

"Well, imagine this really annoying guy," Kris explained, "the most annoying guy in all the land. The kind of guy who causes you headaches and makes you grind your teeth together and lose your crap every time he opens his mouth, right? Now, imagine _that_ guy killing himself because he was so annoyed by this other person, and this other person is almost as annoying as him."

"Ohh, I see who you mean," Leaf said and nodded. "Wow, talk about coincidences. Now, if that's all, I really need to..."

"Oh, no!" Kris said quickly. "That wasn't the reason I stopped you! Do you, uh... want to battle? I'm kinda bored, so..."

"Sorry," Leaf muttered, "I'm not really into battling. I mean, I do have Pokémon, protection and stuff, but I'm really actually working here."

"Oh yeah, what is that thing?" Kris asked and pointed at the device in Leaf's hands. "Tell me! Uh, please...? Is it one of those i-thingies?"

"It's a C-Gear, but it's a professional model," Leaf said. "They're all the rage in Unova, but normally you wear them on your wrist. This is the version scientists use. I'm, uh, doing research..."

"Uh huh," Kris said, wondering what would be the most polite way to continue the conversation. "Umm... what kind of research?"

"It's... well, I _guess_ I can tell you. Blaine would chew me out for this, though..."

"Blaine... hey, is this about a Pokémon? Something-two?"

Leaf stared at Kris, who just shrugged.

"I've heard stuff," Kris mumbled.

"Well, yes," Leaf said indecisively. "Okay, I'll tell you, but I'm gonna have to leave a few details off. The less people get involved, the better, but we could still use support. See, after Blaine went to the Cerulean Cave to capture this Pokémon, he contacted me. Apparently even the Master Ball can only contain this Pokémon, but not really make it belong to anyone – that's because it was designed to only obey the directions of the man who commissioned the project..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Kris belted. "Slow down here. I'm not really following... this Pokémon was _designed_? You mean Porygon?"

"The Pokémon was designed by the Cinnabar Lab, yes, but I don't mean that. Porygon was not the first human-made Pokémon, not even remotely. The backstory is long and complicated, so let me just tell the abridged version. Five years ago, the Pokémon was made, but it didn't obey anyone and ran away, killing several people on its way. Then, just a few weeks ago, Blaine, the one who created the Pokémon, managed to hunt it down and capture it. He sent it to Fiore, but a couple of days ago, they found out it's not there anymore. So, Blaine hired people, including me, to look for it. I don't know how, but he seems to know the Pokémon is in Johto."

"Okay then," Kris said, trying to digest all that information. "So, uh, what's that do?"

"This," Leaf showed Kris the C-Gear, "contains a program and some additional machinery built by Blaine himself. He only trust open-source programs and there wasn't one available, so he made it himself. This should give me some idea about the whereabouts of this Pokémon of ours..."

Kris walked closer to Leaf and got on her toes to see what was on the C-Gear screen. There was a map of Route 39, and at the bottom of the screen, a bar full of information Kris couldn't understand, along with a yellow dot that blinked slowly.

"This should indicate the direction and the proximity of the Pokémon," Leaf explained, "but sadly we won't be able to tell its exact location. I just checked out Route 38 and I'm heading to the next route now... do you want to tag along?"

Kris bit her nails nervously. "I, um... I guess it's okay, I was supposed to wait for... well, who cares. But... you said this Pokémon had _killed_ people... right?"

"Theoretically, it's very dangerous," Leaf said, but noticed it wasn't very reassuring, so she quickly continued. "But Blaine says it's more likely to flee from us that attack us. Are you going the same way as me, by the way?"

"Oh, yes I am!" Kris said. "And... sure, I'll tag along. I guess it's okay to have someone human to talk to once in a while... you know, someone who doesn't make me want to go on a killing spree... well, I don't know you yet, so I'll reserve judgment, but you _seem_ okay..."

Leaf chuckled at the 'killing spree' remarked, but stopped laughing when she realized it wasn't a joke.

**~o~O~o~**

Another pained scream by Shrew echoed throughout the forest, but it was drowned out by uproarious laughter from Granbull, Emolga, Gligar and the various bird Pokémon watching from above. Zangoose didn't laugh, but watched with sadistic glee as Tangela held the Sandshew in the air and squeezed, tightening its grip whenever it felt Shrew was getting used to the pain.

Finally, Zangoose signaled for Tangela to stop. Obediently, Tangela let go of Shrew, letting him drop nine feet and hit the hard ground, prompting more laughter from the spectators as Shrew coughed and wheezed.

"You've held out for quite a while," Zangoose observed. "I guess it's true that there's nothing really left inside you to hurt."

"C'mon, c'mon, it's my turn now!" the Gligar growled and snapped its pincers impatiently.

"Hey, I haven't gotten one yet!" Granbull barked. "Besides, you might cut him to ribbons with those things!"

"Shut up!" Emolga yelled – it hadn't taken a part in the fun, it just sat on a tree branch and observed. "The boss is talking!"

Zangoose walked to Shrew, speaking so quietly that the others had to be quiet so they could hear every taunt.

"Can you hear them?" Zangoose asked softly. "They're all eager to deliver some justice. Don't you feel like you deserved this?"

Shrew spat away the blood on its mouth and turned to look up at Zangoose, who was still smiling.

"No," Shrew said defiantly. "How did you manage to get this gang together, anyway? From what I can remember, back at the lab, there was a band of crazed thugs led by a Sawk... or a Throh... I can never tell 'em apart."

"They're gone!" Granbull growled. "And the commander here saved our lives! We were still trapped in one of the labs at the bottom floor, right when the flooding started. There were twelve of us, originally, but because you and the humans were so eager to get out and save yourselves, four of us drowned and three of us were butchered by those _things_ that came from the portal..."

Granbull stomped closer to Shrew to rant at him, the dog Pokémon drooling all over the Sandshrew.

"Weren't you in a similar situation?" Granbull snarled. "When that first explosion occurred. We saw it all from the surveillance tapes, you know. You bailed out your little Cyndaquil and left the rest to burn. Are you saying you forgot their screams of agony? Or the smell?"

Shrew laughed weakly and semi-deliriously. "Oh yeah, now I remember you," Shrew coughed. "You... didn't you make the first push for the emergency exits? Yeah, I can look at cameras too... you tore up a quite a lot of scientists, there too... and a couple of Pokémon... but hey, I can understand trying to save your own ass... respect, bro..."

Granbull opened its mouth and almost bit Shrew, but Zangoose pushed it away. Making sure the Granbull stayed in line, Zangoose turned towards Shrew, who still coughed and laughed.

"They deserved it," Zangoose said plainly. "_We, _on the other hand, just wanted to be free. You took that chance away from us. Conspiring with the humans again... I can see why you were the professor's favorite... but I guess loyalty wasn't one of your strengths any point... did you kill him too? Was he slowing you down or something?"

Shrew's eyes were rolling and he couldn't focus on Zangoose, but he still found the strength to talk: "You don't know what happened there... don't even pretend you do..."

Shivering and coughing blood, Shrew nonetheless got back on its feet, though it had to use its tail to keep its balance and it had to stand hunched.

"So, now that we're having this little reunion," Shrew said, "why don't you tell me how you got out? I thought everyone died... if not when the place crumbled, then at least when they blew up the place... and better yet, how did you guys find me from all the backwaters of Johto, huh?"

"Flippant as always," Emolga observed. "Maybe we should tell him that when he and those humans used the teleporter, it caused a shock wave that furthered the destruction of the facility. Yes, Shrew, _you_ caused it to crumble."

"...I know," Shrew sighed. "It was necessary to kill all those monsters..."

"Did you even stop to consider other options?" Emolga inquired. "Well, stupid question, really... I suppose that conveniently allowed you to get rid of any witnesses!"

"Be quiet, Emolga," Zangoose said calmly. "Some of us managed to find a chamber that protected from radiation-"

"And of course you took the time to make sure everyone got in, right?" Shrew taunted. "Heroically ensured the survival of as many Pokémon as possible?"

"Of course not!" Granbull barked. "We were seconds away from certain death, you idiot!"

"...and yet you don't see any hypocrisy in this?" Shrew grumbled.

Granbull took a step towards Shrew, but restrained itself. Emolga and Tangela were quiet, while Gligar was nowhere to be seen. Zangoose continued its explanation.

"The chamber started flooding soon," Zangoose said. "The explosion had torn a hole in the outer wall... we were able to swim to the surface through that and get away before humans arrived to clean up after themselves."

Zangoose folded its "arms".

"As for how we found you," she said, "that's what I'd like to know as well. We received a tip that you were here, and didn't waste time coming to meet you. Clearly someone else besides us has a bone to pick with you, which only proves our point. Who is it, Shrew?"

"...I... I have a hunch," Shrew said quietly. "So, you trust this, whoever it is? Pokémon? A human? Or something else? You trust it even though it knows something it shouldn't, even though it was able to track _you_ down and somehow knew where I was? And you really think something with this kind of power won't send another pack of Pokémon after _you_ once this is all done?"

Zangoose remained completely expressionless as it observed Shrew. Granbull and Tangela didn't seem to have anything to say either, prompting Emolga to land next to Zangoose.

"Ignore it, commander," Emolga said to Zangoose. "Whoever it is, we owe them – their information was right, wasn't it? And Granbull, Tangela and Gligar saw it too, it was traveling with humans... where is Gligar anyway?"

Its question was soon answered as the Gligar flew into sight and landed on the other side of Zangoose, whispering something in her ear. Zangoose's eyes widened at the news.

"Bring her in," Zangoose told the two Machop slaves.

The Machop saluted and walked into the bushes. For a while, it was completely quiet. Shrew stood still, too weak to even try a getaway, and the five Pokémon stared at him relentlessly.

Soon, the Machop returned, and a small, mousey Pokémon with closed eyes arrived to the clearing, illuminating the place with the flames sticking out of its back. Shrew had to suppress a gasp when he saw Cyndaquil walking uncertainly and stopping a few yards away from Shrew.

"No..." Shrew whispered. "Quill... how..."

_It couldn't be her_, Shrew thought. But the voice he heard before was unmistakably hers. Shrew may have spent the last year trying to forget the details of what happened on Navel Rock, but there was one thing he could never forget... something that should be long dead, but at this point, very little could surprise him.

"Well," Zangoose said, her eyes darting back and forth between Shrew and Cyndaquil. "I guess there's one thing even Emolga was wrong about. You did keep her around, after all..."

Shrew just stared at Cyndaquil, his mouth gaping.

"Everlasting love, is it, Shrew?" Emolga mocked. "Or did you just keep her around to have your way with her every now and then? A little relief after all those traumatizing things... hell, maybe you even wanted some offspring to make sure Pokémon as treacherous as you will still walk in this world after you're gone?"

"And now we have something of yours to hurt," Gligar said gleefully, drooling as it stared at Cyndaquil. "Rest and watch, Shrew!"

Gligar flew towards Cyndaquil, its pincers ready to stab. Shrew, however, would have none of it. Before Granbull and Tangela could stop him, he curled into a ball. Using its patented Rollout move, Shrew spun towards Gligar and struck it in the stomach, sending the scorpion-like Pokémon flying backwards until it hit a tree and was knocked unconscious.

Shrew landed in front of Cyndaquil, spreading its tiny arms in her defense. When it attacked Gligar, it had felt no pain, but now it was all rushing back to him.

"...you all right, Quill?" he grunted.

"Y-yes!" Cyndaquil gasped. "He didn't even get to touch me, I'm fine! But w-what about you?"

"...all things considered?" Shrew asked. "Like crap, actually..."

"Impressive," Zangoose observed. "All that time spent lounging around with humans and getting to chow on grade-A Pokémon food hasn't softened you, at least..."

"Shut your face," Shrew grunted at her. "You might think that I couldn't possibly understand what you went through... but you're wrong. Whatever you experienced, before or after the incident, I went through something ten times worse. You think they chose me for the experiments because I played nice with the humans? When you play nice, they know you've gotten weak... so most of the time, those who played nice got fed to the rest of us. They did unspeakable things to me and Quill here... I don't _need_ to be reminded of it."

Shrew stared at Zangoose's eyes, hoping Quill would come up with a plan like last time. Shrew's only plan was to keep the conversation going.

"But you're right in one thing," Shrew said. "I didn't stop to help everyone. I was focused on getting myself and Cyndaquil out of that place. And on some level, I knew there were Pokémon still alive in the lower floors. Believe me, I did everything in my power to aid any Pokémon that I met on the way to the teleport that _didn't_ try to kill me for the sole reason of getting chosen as the main lab rat... but I wasn't a hero. I wasn't like you."

"He admits it," Emolga said to Zangoose. "It still changes nothing. He has to pay for what he did!"

"I pay for it every single day," Shrew interrupted, still talking to Zangoose, whose expression still hadn't changed. "I can't ever make up for what I did. It's done. So I'd rather forget and try to live with it. I'm traveling with some humans and helping them. I don't know what that makes me, but I want to help someone... it's the least I can do."

"Shrew," Cyndaquil whispered. "I'm so glad to see you again..."

Shrew gulped, but when he spoke again, his voice was more firm, more confident.

"I only tried to save one," Shrew asserted, "and I failed with that too. I thought Quill here was as dead as all of you. But you tried to save more," Shrew told Zangoose, "and you got these four out. I don't know how, but you seemed to pick the four that deserved it the least. They weren't too busy trying to save you or anyone else. I don't know what they had been through, but if they think killing me will bring them some justice, or closure, they're wrong. They'll have to live with it just like I do. They don't deserve your help."

"The commander would never listen to you!" Emolga yelled. "You betrayed us to the humans that caused all our suffering!"

"I didn't," Shrew said calmly. "I just wanted to get me and Quill out of there, and my success rate was only fifty percent. I only fought other Pokémon when they tried to prevent me from doing that. It was Quill who got another batch of lab Pokémon to fight against those Team Rocket goons. She was doing something selfless, like you, Zangoose. But if you kill me and her now, then none of it won't matter and you'll be just as bad as me."

"Team Rocket?" Zangoose said quietly. "Were they the ones who attacked us and unleashed those monsters on us?"

Shrew shook his head.

"They were a part of it, but they were obeying something else," Shrew said confidently. "Whatever it is, the same thing is manipulating all of you. And if I were to guess," Shrew added, glaring at Emolga, "that little squirrel assistant of yours would know something about it."

"We were warned you'd try to play mind games with us," Emolga hissed. "You never cared about anything besides yourself, you'd even sacrifice Cyndaquil if it meant getting away."

"Let's test that," Zangoose said suddenly.

Shrew, Granbull and Tangela stared at Zangoose while Emolga was bewildered.

"Wha-huh?"

"I don't want anyone else get hurt besides you, Shrew," Zangoose said, nodding in the direction of the unconscious Gligar, "not even Cyndaquil, so I'm willing to compromise. Let us have her – we'll take her in, make her one of us and take care of her. In return, you'll get your one chance to get away and defend yourself. You need to be ready when we come to get you next time."

"We don't know how long that might take!" Emolga hissed. "And I... we made a promise to it!"

"These are my terms!" Zangoose said, ignoring Emolga. "Do you accept?"

Shrew breathed deep and started sweating. How could he make a decision like that? In no way did he trust any one of those creeps, not even Zangoose, and all that torture certainly didn't help. But what other options were there? Shrew wasn't in the best shape to escape, or fight for that matter.

Shrew looked behind him for support. Cyndaquil's and Shrew's eyes met for a moment and Cyndaquil shook her head slightly. Shrew nodded.

"No way," Shrew said finally. "I'm sorry, but what you're asking is too much."

Zangoose squinted, while Granbull started growling.

"There's no reasoning with you, is there?" the Granbull said. "What did you expect the alternatives were? We let you go in peace? If you don't wanna give her to us, we'll take her!"

Granbull leaped towards Shrew, who reacted instantly. Yelling at Cyndaquil to dodge, Shrew stepped in front of her as Cyndaquil ran behind cover. As Granbull was about to tackle Shrew, the Sandshrew extended its claws and poked at the Granbull.

The Granbull stopped and tumbled down, but didn't seem to be in pain. Looking at where Shrew had stabbed it, Granbull saw Shrew's claw lodged in the tiny, shallow wound. Granbull stood up, pulled the claw away and laughed.

"Hah! You'll have to do better than that to... to... you... you bast..."

Suddenly, Granbull started to stagger, then it crashed down again, its face greenish and its eyes crossed as it started coughing. Zangoose, Emolga and Tangela just stared in shock while Shrew stood in front of Cyndaquil again.

"Poison Sting," Shrew explained. "Just a more powerful variation of it I worked on. My claw will grow back, but Granbull is not getting up if you don't get him treated soon. Any one of you tries anything like that, they'll get the same fate. Back off!" Shrew yelled at Tangela, who was about to grab Cyndaquil away with its vines.

"Do as he says," Zangoose said, "and get Granbull fixed up. Maybe that'll teach him not to attack without my permission."

Zangoose stared at Shrew – she didn't seem angry, just contemplative.

"I'm sorry," Shrew said weakly. "Sorry for everything you had to go through. Go!" he told Cyndaquil, who started running into the forest. "Sorry to see you still being slaves to someone, even though the ordeal is over and you could be... well, I guess none of us will ever be free... but you could at least try. Any one of you try to follow us, you'll die, by the way. I better not be seeing you again."

Shrew and Zangoose stared at each other for a while, then Shrew ran after Cyndaquil.

After running an indeterminate amount of time and arriving to a pond close to the path where Shrew had been ambushed, Shrew and Cyndaquil finally stopped running. After catching its breath, Shrew stopped to just stare at Cyndaquil, tears in his eyes.

"How are you here?" he whispered. "I thought you..."

"Shh, calm down," Cyndaquil whispered softly.

"Why didn't you... I mean, last I saw you, your flamethrower attack grilled so many of those monsters... why didn't you use it now?"

Cyndaquil just watched Shrew sadly. Shrew shook his head.

"Oh, it doesn't matter," he groaned. "I've been thinking about you so much. I never even thought you could be..."

Shrew tried to touch Cyndaquil's paw with his, but instead, his paw went right through, as if there was nothing but air. Shrew stared at what happened.

"And I'm not," Cyndaquil said tearfully. "I'm sorry, Shrew. I'm no longer here. This is my last chance in this world... and I wanted to use it well."

"How... you're a... why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry," Cyndaquil said. "I needed to make sure... I was sure you couldn't make it through the teleportation either. Seeing that it really was you and you were really alive, I..." Cyndaquil gulped. "I'm so happy to know that."

"You saved my life, Quill," Shrew said. "After I tried so hard to save yours..."

"You tried," Cyndaquil said. "And you got those humans out, too. You're a hero, Shrew, no matter what those Pokémon might say. Go on. What do you remember after the teleport activated?"

"I..." Shrew sniffed. "Someone brought me to the Lavender Volunteer House. They nursed me to health, I guess. I'm not quite sure. For the first three days, all I thought about was what happened over there... and you."

"That thing you were carrying, the Griseous Orb," Cyndaquil said. "Did you get it to safety?"

"No, that human, Wes, took it," Shrew admitted. "I'm sorry... I couldn't even do that..."

"It's okay," Cyndaquil smiled. "Humans, we should have known. So they nursed you to health and gave you to the first ignorant human they came across?"

Shrew shook his head. "This one is different. So's the girl. Thanks to them, I was finally beginning to forget..."

"You can try to get past it," Cyndaquil said, "but you should never forget. You must remember what you did, always, to use that strength of yours for good. I already saw some of that, when you fought so hard to save me just now. And that's why I'm here... to set you on the path. You can start making up for what happened there."

"I... can?" Shrew whispered. "Quill, there's nothing that I want more than that. Tell me how!"

"The Griseous Orb," Cyndaquil explained. "It's not safe with humans. You need to find it. And that ball that the girl is carrying around..."

"The GS Ball?"

"Yes. Make sure it gets to its destination. Do you remember?"

"Dr. Gideon at the Whirl Islands," Shrew said. "Yeah, they've been talking about that a lot."

"Do you think they'll even succeed?" Cyndaquil asked. "They're greedy, incompetent, self-centered... isn't it obvious that they're not looking out for the greater good?"

"What are you...?"

"I'm sorry, Shrew, but you have no other choice. You have to kill them."

Shrew stared at Cyndaquil, whose voice and manners remained as soothing and quiet as ever. And yet...

"It's the only way," Cyndaquil said calmly. "What they're carrying could put an end to all this, the fate of all Pokémon everywhere depends on it, and they don't even know it. It's too much responsibility for them to wield. Do it in their sleep. You have sharp claws, it'll be quick, easy, painless and-"

"Who are you?" Shrew trembled.

Cyndaquil tilted its head and smiled.

"Shrew, what are you talking about? It's me, Quill."

"No it isn't," Shrew whispered. "I still remember the last words that Quill spoke to me before... you should have done your homework before all this. Who are you?"

Cyndaquil smiled even wider. "Took you long enough," she said coldly.

And then before Shrew's eyes, Cyndaquil started to morph. It grew larger, soon towering sixteen feet tall and becoming an entirely different Pokémon. It was enormous, gray centipede-like Pokémon with six legs, six claws and six dark, gaseous wings. A golden helmet concealed large parts of its face but left its two, small, red eyes visible.

"I knew it," Shrew whispered, looking up at the newly transformed creature. "The beast of the Distortion World... you're the one who spoke to me then..."

"_Not just then!_"

Giratina's voice didn't seem to come from the Pokémon itself, but it echoed all over, especially in Shrew's head. Shrew tried to cover its ears, but nothing could block the voice from booming inside its skull.

"_Ah, so you're wondering why I went through all this trouble? It's simple, really. For five thousand years, I've been trapped in the Distortion World, only recently gaining the ability to manifest in this world in spirit form. __This was your second chance to be saved from the upcoming annihilation and you squandered it again – no surprise there. At least you'll see the incredible ride I have planned for the coming months. You don't want to find the orb for me? Fine. You were just a contingency plan, after all. I'll be seeing you around, Shrew..._"

Giratina turned into a black cloud of smoke, then vanished completely. Shrew stared blankly forward for a while, then gave into the pain and passed out. It briefly woke up, as if in a trance, to see a human gently picking it up, but soon slipped into unconsciousness again.

**~o~O~o~**

Shane was still running around Route 39, desperately calling out to Shrew, still refusing to admit he would fail. Though starving, exhausted and in need of an urgent bathroom break, Shane wouldn't stop until he found Shrew.

Finally, his prayers were answered, when a blonde-haired guy wearing a brown coat walked up to him, carrying a Sandshrew in his arms.

"Hey, you there!" the guy yelled. "Is this your Pokémon?"

Shane almost jumped up when he realized that it indeed was, prompting him to rush towards the man and hug him.

"Yes! It is! Thankyouthankyouthankyou! You found it! THANK YOU!"

"Yeah, settle down the kid," the guy said. "Sheesh, when did you last change that shirt? Well, anyway, here's the little critter... careful now. Looks like it's hurt pretty bad."

Shane's enthusiasm dropped a notch when he took Shrew from the mystery man and held the Pokémon in his arms. It was still clearly breathing, fortunately, but covered in cuts, bruises and bloodstains. One of its claws was also missing.

"Yeah..." Shane sighed and looked at the man. "Listen, I can't afford to give you a reward right now... unless I can interest you in a fabulous itemfinder?"

The guy just shrugged. "Forget about it," he remarked casually. "Something else I can do for you?"

"Well, now that you mentioned it," Shane said, "I'm sort of lost at the moment, and all my stuff and my other Pokémon were left with my friend whose somewhere... uh... well, there were lots of Miltank..."

"That's where I'm going m'self," the guy said. "Just follow me!"

**~o~O~o~**

Meanwhile, attempting to find Shane and tracking the mystery Pokémon, Kris and Leaf were walking along the narrow forest path near Route 39. Surprisingly, Kris found herself talking and even laughing a bit whilst talking to Leaf, who didn't laugh herself, but was fairly talkative and at least smiled every now and then.

"You really know professor Elm?" Kris asked her.

"Yeah, Blaine introduced him to me," Leaf chimed. "I know he studied under Oak himself and I've always thought his theories were pretty neat. Oh, sorry, nerd talking here."

"Hey, it's all right," Kris said. "I'm a bit of a... well, come to think of it, I guess I'm more like a geek than anything... the difference has always been weird to me..."

"I was just joking," Leaf smiled. "So you have some hobbies that may be different from the mainstream or you're really passionate about something, who cares? It's a part of you, but it doesn't define who you are, and it certainly shouldn't be used as a weapon of mockery by someone."

Kris found herself smiling too. Soon enough, they saw Shane walking towards them, though Kris' smile faded when she saw the shape Sandshrew was in.

"Kris! Kris!" Shane panted as he ran to the girls. "Oh, hi, Leaf," he acknowledged, then turned back to Kris. "Hey, you have any Potions or something? Shrew's hurt pretty bad... oh, right, thanks for the- huh?"

When Shane turned to look, the mystery guy who had brought Shane to the girls was missing. Kris took Shrew carefully and observed its condition. Shane clearly wasn't happy with Shrew being taken away from him, but had to admit to himself that he couldn't do much to help it, so he pretty much ignored the man's mysterious disappearance.

"Hey, calm down already!" Kris snapped at Shane, who kept fidgeting around her. She gave Shrew back to Shane and handed him his bag back. "Place it on the ground near that stream there, I'll be right there. Sorry," she said to Leaf. "But I don't think I can go to Olivine with you. It's getting dark soon, and Shrew needs to be treated now."

"Sure thing, I honestly would have been forced to ditch you at some point anyway," Leaf remarked and took something from her shoulder bag – it was a small white kit with a red cross on it. "Pokémon first aid kit," she explained and gave it to Kris. "It gets you better results than just a Potion would. I always carry a spare."

"Smart," Kris acknowledged. "And thanks. I don't even have one... wow, I suck at this. I'll, uh, see you at some point, I guess?"

Leaf shrugged. "It would be pretty nice, I suppose, but I doubt it. Work comes first."

With Leaf gone and the sun about to set, Kris and Shane made camp on some steady ground near the stream, setting up a fire. Shane watched and wrung his hands while Kris used the contents of the first aid kit to nurse back to health. Finally, after giving it a Revive, an octahedron-shaped pill, as well as a squirt from a Super Potion, Shrew finally woke up, though it didn't greet Kris and Shane with the usual happy squeak. Instead, it just stared sadly.

"It's been through a lot," Kris assured Shane, who looked like he couldn't decide whether to hold the Pokémon or not. "You can comfort him later, but now, maybe we should just let it be. Give it some rest."

Shane nodded. Soon enough, after eating and unsuccessfully trying make Shrew eat something, they both put their sleeping bags on opposite sides of the fire. They noticed that Shrew had crawled away, and was instead sitting on a rock close to the stream. Shane was about to go to it, but Kris was quick to stop him.

"You know, we should buy a tent," Shane pointed out as he crawled into his sleeping bag, "or at least try to make some kind of shelter. I know it's not raining now, but I remember waking up soaking wet one morning back in Kanto. Odd that the rain itself didn't wake me up, though..."

"Meh, we usually sleep in Pokémon Centers or caves or somesuch, no point in spending the money," Kris observed as she sat by the fire. For some reason, she lowered her voice a little when she spoke again: "Honestly, though, what do you think happened to Shrew that made it act like that?"

"Huh? I dunno, Pokémon stuff I guess. It hadn't panicked in many days, so I guess it had to make up for that now. Oh, and Kris..."

"Yeah?"

"Sorry about all this... I know you wanted to get to Olivine City by the end of the day."

"I really did," Kris admitted, "but we still made at least some progress. And turns out, I had fun with Leaf. Who'd a thunk it? She's nice, but also totally unsentimental. My kind of person."

"Wait 'till you've talked with her a little longer..."

Shane yawned.

"Anyway, this is Shrew we're talking about," he told Kris. "It probably wondered off, got scared and fell off a small cliff or something."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Kris sighed. "What else could have happened?"

And yet, long after Kris and Shane had fallen asleep, Shrew still sat on the rock and stared at the stars.

* * *

_**A/N: I can honestly say this is my favorite chapter so far. The name and the backstory comes from my prologue story "His Master's Voice" (worth a look by the way), which only has two chapters so far, but the third will be posted in a few days, meaning that this story will not be updated for a little while. By this, I only mean like a week or something, though. Thanks to dzk87 for upping my review count and the thoughts he shared with me. Also thanks to everyone else reading, reviewing, favoriting or whatever. I hope to balance out my life in order to give steady updates of both stories.**_


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